September 2023.
Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida.

On our autumn trip in 2023, we traveled both coasts of Florida and spent some time in the Everglades. For natural beauty, our airboat ride and the tour bus ride through Everglades National Park were the highlights of our journey. Photos of the airboat ride were shared here. We saw more alligators on that ride than we did in the park, but Everglades National Park gave us plenty of Great Blue Herons to photograph. My favorite is the opening photo, but I have several more on my Flickr album (link below).

The Everglades is a unique landscape. It consists of a vast, slow-moving river of grass that stretches across South Florida. Unlike a traditional river with fast currents and deep channels, these wetlands flow at an almost imperceptible pace, shaped by seasonal rains and gentle water movement.

The surface is dotted with sawgrass marshes, cypress domes, and mangrove forests, creating a patchwork of habitats teeming with life. Water slowly filters through the limestone bedrock, nourishing countless plants and animals. This shallow, winding flow connects lakes, estuaries, and coastal bays, sustaining ecosystems as it moves toward the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

We entered the park at the Shark Valley entrance, and because it was off-season in September, we were able to get tickets for the Shark Valley Tram Tour. If you visit the park during the peak season, advance reservations are highly recommended. The tram is popular because it offers a fantastic way to explore the Everglades. These guided two-hour tours take visitors along a 15-mile loop trail through the “River of Grass,” providing incredible wildlife viewing opportunities.

We only saw a couple of alligators on our tram tour, and the photo above is the only one that provides a clear picture of the alligator for me to share. In fairness to the tram tour, the airboat ride offers far more opportunities to see alligators as it navigates through the mangroves. The tram can only view a small area near the roadway built through the park.

The Shark Valley Observation Tower is one of the best spots in the Everglades for panoramic views. At 70 feet (21 m), it offers breathtaking views of the “River of Grass” stretching for miles. Located along the Shark Valley Tram Road, the tower is a midway stop on the 15-mile (24 km) loop.

There are no stairs to reach the observation tower’s first level. Instead, a long ramp spirals upward to the viewing platform, making it a gradual climb rather than a steep ascent. Still, it is a bit of a climb for those of us of a certain age. The structure, built in the 1960s, has the top level closed off, but there is plenty to see from the first level.

On our return to the visitor center, the roadway goes through a mangrove thicket. The tram stopped for us to take photos of an anhinga perched in the mangroves. The anhinga, also known as the snakebird, darter, or water turkey, is a water bird found in warm, shallow wetlands across the Americas. I shared this photo before in a Cellpic Sunday post a while back. If you’d like more details about the anhinga, look here.

As noted above, more photos are shared in 2K HD on my Flickr site here. You will also find the metadata for these photos, some shot with my cell phone and some with my Sony RX-100V. We found our visit to Everglades National Park an unforgettable journey into one of the most unique and biodiverse landscapes in the world. From spotting alligators and wading birds to exploring the vast River of Grass, the tour and visit to the park offer a deeper connection to nature’s untamed beauty.

John Steiner