Everglades National Park

While staying at the Lawrences, we saw an article in the local newspaper, recommending on a bike trail in Everglades NP, named Shark Valley loop. Yesterday we arrived there, all ready to bike the 24km(!) trail. The area is swampy with sawgrass prairies. As we started going we saw many alligators sunning along the road, making it ever so scary to go through. Adi and Dafi the chickens, got nervous and started to go back towards the car. Dagan and Aviv followed. The terrible story of Steve Irwin came to my mind (Dafi) and I couldn't continue.
Then we met a ranger that said that there was never a problem before and the gators are usually calm with full bellies. We gave it another chance and this time we did the whole trail.
It was a beautiful day and we saw a lot of wildlife, mainly birds and gators. In the pictures: red shouldered hawk and anhinga drying it's wings. Anhingas don't have a fat layer on their wings, a fact that allows them to dive for fishing. Later on they need to spread their wings out to dry in order to fly.

This is a mama-gator with baby-gator on the back
Great blue heron and a Florida giant orange grasshopper

On the way we saw some black vultures circling a swollen gator carcass that was floating in the water (the carcass photo is too gross to blog.)
Tricolored heron

Too many gators

And one Crayfish crossing the road
We are in the Keys right now. The campground prices are crazy high because December is the high season. It's really beautiful here and we'll write about it next time.