One Snake, Two Snakes, Three Snakes Too Many in Everglades National Park
Peaceful Florida Bay, View from Flamingo, Everglades National Park
Just another flashback post to my days living in the national parks.
Mosquitoes, geckos and palmetto bugs (the glamorous name given to cockroaches) commonly shared living space in our second-floor apartment at the Flamingo Lodge, Marina & Resort in Everglades National Park, located about 50 miles from civilization. Guests of the Lodge also had the pleasure of sharing their accommodations with critters of the Everglades.
During the summer, some guests opened their doors wide open inviting swarms of salt marsh mosquitoes into their room. The solution? Turn the air conditioning on full blast to freeze the little aggressive buggers. Geckos racing across walls of hotel rooms were harmless, especially since they ate mosquitoes. If some of the 43 species of mosquitoes that call the Everglades home found their way into a car, the “Flamingo flush” was recommended, the simple act of opening the car doors while moving to suck out the bugs.
Read MoreE is for Everglades National Park Tram Tour
Shark Valley Tower, Everglades National Park, Fla.
Say “Everglades” and people almost always associate it with rip-roaring airboat rides. Although airboats are prohibited in most of Everglades National Park, there are other ways to explore this bio-diverse natural treasure. Located less than an hour’s drive west of Miami in the northern part of the park off Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) is Shark Valley. Visitors can hop aboard a guided two-hour tram tour deep into the Everglades to see first-hand why it’s called the “River of Grass.”
Read MoreWordless Wednesday: Here Gator, Gator in the Florida Everglades
Alligator Swimming in Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Florida
Looking for a place in Florida to spot alligators? Although not a guarantee – since gators are wild animals – Shark Valley in Everglades National Park is a pretty good bet to spot one. Alligators are pretty cool animals and definitely need to be respected.
Enjoy these snapshots of the prehistoric reptile in all its Everglades glory.
Read MoreWordless Wednesday: Baby Snakebirds at Shark Valley in Everglades National Park
Baby Gator at Shark Valley in Everglades National Park, Florida
It’s nearly spring in the Everglades meaning baby animals are abundant. In addition to seeing young alligators we spotted juvenile Anhinga during the weekend visit to Shark Valley in Everglades National Park, Florida. Anhinga are also called Snakebird and I wouldn’t say the pink, bald baby birds we saw were cute but will say they were endearing as my parents and I watched them call out and nuzzle to their mother from their nest.
Enjoy these portraits of mother and children.
Read MoreMore Images from Flamingo in Everglades National Park: Buttonwood Cafe and Florida Bay
Inside the Buttonwood Cafe, Flamingo, Everglades National Park, Fla., May 22, 2011
Although I snapped several photos, I thought video would be the best way to show what has changed at Flamingo since my last visit in 2008. Comparing 2008 to when I lived and worked there in the late 1990s is even a greater change especially since while living there, services were in full operation. In 2008, services were limited and the Lodge and dining facilities were closed.
Below are two brief videos. One shows the interior of the Buttonwood Cafe which now serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. While working there in the 1990s, it served lunch and dinner and the best (and only) pizza in town.
The other video shows the classic and unchanged view (except for the pink restaurant) of Florida Bay from the National Park Service Flamingo Visitor Center breezeway.
Enjoy.
Read MoreAbout Me
My name is Jennifer Huber and I’m just your average forty-something-year-old gal living life solo. Learn More >> 
