Wild Lime Adventures of the Everglades
Eco and Cultural Tour
We took off for Everglades City, Fl on Friday March 17 and we had perfect weather for a couple of days of small group exploration led by Ryan of Wild Lime Adventures. Ryan has worked as a elementary science coach, snorkeling and kayaking guide in the U.S. Virgin Islands as well as working as a guide on trains in Alaska for seven summers. Tour Guide looks like a GREAT GIG! Wild Lime specializes in single and multi-day personalized tours to Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. Over time, we have learned the huge value of tours from experts. This was no exception. https://wildlimeadventures.com/.
Buffalo Tiger Airboats
Our tour met at Buffalo Tiger Airboats at 8:45 am for a briefing on the day’s plan and we were introduced to our Air Boat Captain, Fabian. We enjoyed an hour cruising the glades, spotting lots of Herons, Hawks and Alligators while Fabian shared the history of the Seminole https://www.semtribe.com/stof and the Miccosukee tribes that live in the area. https://www.semtribe.com/stof, https://www.miccosukee.com/history. We also visited a small island that included a model of a Miccosukee Indian habitat with traditional open sided palm thatched huts where we were greeted by a Turkey vulture. Fabian treated us to a taste of the local Sugar Cane then we were off again spotting wildlife. https://buffalotigerboats.com.
Gator Country
We got back in the van and headed West on FL-41, Tamiami Trail. Obviously, there are a lot of gators widespread across Florida and concentrated in the Everglades. Our guide, Ryan, shared a lot of information we didn’t know such as how they use the ridges, scutes, bone plates that act as a heat conductor to keep them warm in the winter when it does cool down, a little, briefly. As the sun warms the skin surface, the blood running through the scutes is warmed and distributed through the body. Females and young alligators live in groups and often near each other. Guess what? The large male alligators live alone and don’t like to share their space with anything or anyone. We stopped at a rest area along the canal and viewed gators, snakes and of course, more birds! https://www.nps.gov/ever/index.htm, https://www.nps.gov/bicy/index.htm.
Clyde Butcher Gallery
Along the trail we stopped at the Clyde Butcher Gallery. Surrounded by over a million acres of wilderness, Butcher purchased 14 acres of land in Big Cypress National Preserve in 1993. Don’t miss this small gallery of the master landscape photographer. He has been called the Ansel Adams of the Everglades. His focus is black-and-white photography to promote awareness of the beauty of natural places and the importance of local conservation. You will find many amazing clear photographs of the surrounding area. Without a doubt, this is a hidden gem of the state. https://clydebutcher.com/, https://www.nps.gov/bicy/index.htm.
Everglades City
We stayed in Everglades City and did some exploring the day before our tour but barely skimmed the surface of what there is to learn. You can immerse yourself in the rich history of the Seminoles, Spanish occupation and American settlement that happened after the Civil War. The town really exhibits struggle, and the population has never exceeded 600. It’s not your active, busy, Florida beach town. It is the gateway to the 10,000 Islands though which is filled with sea animals and rare birds. These rare birds, many Egrets, their feathers, became extremely desirable in the late 1800’s for ladies’ hats in Europe and throughout the world. The feathers were once more valuable, by the ounce, than gold. Wild Lime Adventures shares a lot of history and information that you can’t get without a tour. https://www.audubon.org/birds.
Chokoloskee Island and Smallwood Store Boat Ride
After Everglades City, we rode a few more minutes down to a smaller Chokoloskee Island. Now a museum, this is the site of the Smallwood Store. The most prominent early settler, Ted Smallwood opened the trading post in 1906 that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1974). It’s a step back in time. The store closed in 1982 and the original goods remain in the store. Hard to believe, that’s already 40 years. https://www.smallwoodstore.com/ Here we enjoyed a little lunch and took a boat ride for about an hour in search of dolphins, gators, sea life and of course, birds! We saw an American Bald Eagle, Wood Storks, Great Blue Herons many Great White Egrets. Dolphins were illusive but we did see a couple of Stingrays jump from the water. The great Captain Gary narrated the adventure!
Kirby Storter Nature Walk
Barron Collier (Collier County) paid for the construction of the Tamiami Trail, the road from Tampa to Miami. Kirby Storter worked for him as an electrician and carpenter. He oversaw the construction of the Tamiami Trail. This trail is a one mile round trip boardwalk over a Cypress Swamp dug out by gators to create a deeper pool of water for the dry months. Our guide Ryan had recently become fascinate with Orchids. The rare, endangered Ghost Orchid, only native to South Florida and Cuba, has been in the news of late. They are a hot item among collectors and it is illegal to remove them from natural habitat. We saw many Air Plants, epiphytes, that attach themselves to other plants but are not predators. These are very popular now for all sorts of decoration. You can get one free here! https://www.air-plants.com/blogs/air-plant-encyclopedia/where-do-air-plants-grow.
The Getaway and the Takeaway
For us it was a two and a half hour drive well spent. A lot of tours to National Parks include waiting in lines and a lot of people. That wasn’t the case here. There were few people in prime season, South Florida, winter, March. It certainly was a full day of adventure and we got to do it with great friends who met us from the East coast of Florida. That’s a great bonus! This was their second time and they enjoyed it as much as the first. I think we will do it again someday. Every guide was very good, answered every question and at times gave us the choice of what to do next. Two thumbs up!
Wild Lime Adventures also included water, soft drinks, snacks, a drinking water bottle as well as hearing protection for riding the airboat. Bravo! https://wildlimeadventures.com/.
Special thanks to our great friends Andy and Laura Morris for the invitation!
