Expeditions and Adventures: Playing Tourist in the Everglades

After Nan pulled out to head back north Liz and I continued to explore the Everglades. I already posted some of our adventures but there are just so many pictures you can upload at a time. It is the least I can do to brighten up the snowy environments of the northern states.

The sea of grass continues flowing but remember this is the dry season so that may be trickling...

We saw these signs around the visitor centers and tour places. It seems that the vultures like rubber...on wipers and roof rakes especially! I protected my wipers with a doggy blanket/baby blanket. Surprise, surprise, there is no shortage of loose blankets in my car.

And then we headed out to the Royal Palms Board Walk.

The elves only come out at night...when we are gone.....

"Yes, I see the 'gator, but we can both hope that he is taking his afternoon nap."

"Hey, Charlie, do that scary things with you wings the tourists are coming. You hold them off here while we circle back and get their metal things with the sweet sweet candy rubber attached.

"yes, I really am this big. You doubted me?" "I just don't like hanging around in the slough with all the gang. Tose are just the young folks in there!"

"Harry, he says he really just wants to get out of the water and sun for awhile." "Why should we move? We out number him. Tell him that."

"Ah, Harry, maybe we should reconsider...."

"We are hungry Dad. Really hungry!"

Just looks like the praire, remember?

Yes, I am just that handsome, you guys can walk past me and look all you want.

"Is Charlie still over on the boardwalk distracting the tourist. We said we would save him some."

There are more photographs of photographers coming but I liked this couple. I talked with her as she walked past and, yes, she does know how to come prepared for an afternoon of following her husband, the photographer, around.

One of our tourist trips was out to see the Nike Missile site. The sign was a reproduction of the original. The were serious about the deadly force part. Again, because south Florida is so close to Cuba, the visit to the site was a refresher course in the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crises. There were a few younger people in the crowd but most of us remembered the drills in school....

The grounds themselves are not that exciting and the imagination was working overtime thinking about the 18 to 23 year olds that were assigned out in the middle of nowhere to "protect and serve."

All those missiles and nuclear warheads and so little communication systems at the time.....

Star Trek had it about right....

And then there was a slow tourist day and Remi and Stuart got some much needed attention. Well, I guess they did have different opinions about that - particularly the trimming the nails part.