Key Largo

Everglades off the road before the rain

First 20 miles of Everglades

3/29       Well....the plan for the everglades didn't go as planned.  It turned out to be very hot, wet, and crowded.  I went over on the 41 with plans to stay in Everglade City after having researched and found out there were several places to camp.  Turned out that wasn't the case.  There was no place to stay.  And all the air boat rides I saw early on didn't have any shade where I could park the truck and leave Cash in it.  I didn't dare leave him in the car in that hot sun.  And the same case with the tram in the national park visitor center.  So I kept driving looking for shade (did I mention it was very hot)  then it started to pour down rain.  So hard you could barely see to drive.  I gave up at that point and decided to drive on down to the keys and do the everglades on the way back up.  I ended up being very lucky to get a campsite in John Pennekamp coral reef state park.  Very cool place with lots to do.  Supposed to be one of the best places in the keys for snorkeling and diving.  I went to the beach at the park to snorkel before bed, and it wasn't all that great.  Mostly grassy with a few fish.  Apparently you have to get a boat to the reef to see anything very good.

I didn't kayak, but this is what the area looked like.

3/30    I messed around in the morning, straightening up, groceries, etc. It's so hot and humid here I've started using the air conditioner in the trailer, but that just makes it feel worse when you get outside.  The heat and humidity makes me lazy too.  I don't even want to go take pictures, walk or much of anything. 

A walk through the mangroves

I was able to leave Cash in the afternoon, in the trailer with the air on, and go on the glass-bottom boat trip.  It was nice and kept me a little cooler.  The seas were running 3 to 5 feet, so it was a bit rough and we had lots of people hanging off the rails.  I hung out with a couple from Colorado who were here for a few days to warm up.  I was looking at scuba diving, but because the wind was high and the seas rough, they canceled the trip today.  I'm going snorkeling in the morning even if the wind is up, which is what they expect.

The connection is intermittent here, so I watched a movie, read and went to sleep.  That's seems to be the normal evening.  The days are all different, but the nights are the same.