Thursday, June 14, 2012

Everglades National Park - Shark Valley

Since we didn't get to see many alligators during our airboat tour, we decided to go into the Everglades on our own. We went into the Shark Valley entrance and even though the park was closed, we were able to park outside and walk in. It was late afternoon so the temperature was starting to cool and made for a nice walk. It was an easy path to walk on, with water on both sides. Throughout the whole walk we kept checking the water for alligators. We were having such a great time, walking along spotting wildlife. We took a little detour off the main path to a trail just off the road. We were enjoying ourselves listening for bull frogs trying to spot where they were when Larry spotted it. A huge anaconda blocking our path. It was at least 30 feet long and at least a foot wide. It had a small Florida Panther in its grasp, but I knew it was only a matter of time before we were next. This is what I looked like after I was safely away from that savage monster:
Okay, so maybe I exaggerated slightly. The snake may have been slightly smaller than I described. But it could have been poisonous! And there could have been more just waiting to jump out of a tree onto my head! Either way, Larry still has proof of my fear on his arm in the form of nail marks where my nails dug into him as we ran out through the path.
The rest of our experience in the Everglades, went much more smoothly as we walked back through the main path. We spotted some aquatic turtles, a baby alligator and some really big ones! It's crazy how close you can really get to the gators!

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