Traveling the Everglades Waterway

We spent a couple of weeks in the Flamingo area of the Everglades, and decide to make it our basecamp for a journey that Kim and I have wanted to do since our paddle in the upper part of the Wilderness Waterway five years ago. The trip will take us from the southern end of the state at Florida Bay at Flamingo up the one hundred plus mile journey to the Everglades City Ranger Station, and will take us six days and five nights.

The winds are screaming out of the south the morning of our departure, so after looking at our maps, we decide to launch at Hell's Bay (about 8 miles east of the Waterway) in order to avoid the rough waters of Whitewater Bay. Dave graciously volunteered to be our shuttle, so off we went from Flamingo Campground, to the small roadside launch.
Day 1:
Our route for today will take us through Hell's Bay, a twisting winding labyrinth of tightly intertwined mangroves, marked only by a series of white PVC pipes (thank you Park Rangers!).
Once through "Hell" we will break out into a serties of small bays and lakes that eventually allow us to work our way to northward roughly 10 miles to North River Chickee for our first night's stay in this remote wilderness.

I guess the name Hell's Bay is misleading, more like Hell's tunnels. Negotiating this ticket of tangled, low-hanging stuff took about 3 miles of careful paddling before we could ever crank the motor.

You might say, why the motor??? Being "purist" padders, we learned while in Alaska that there are many places we missed a great experience because of the distances involved.

So, we decided to try this combination of a larger tandem canoe and the little 26lb Honda 2hp, 4-stroke engine. It turns out it made this 100+ mile trip enjoyable, allowing us plenty of time to explore and to arrive early each day at our next camp and just relax.

We spot Rodgers River Chickee (a double) which is guarded by a large Osprey nest.
It's been almost 4 years since we did our first Everglades paddle. We learned that mosquitoes don't bother you on these elevated platforms, set a distance from the thicker shoreline.

Soon we arrive at North River. As I look down into the canoe from the platform, I wonder how we managed to get all that gear in there without sinking! (Sorry for the pix, it's 2 shots stitched together, our canoe really isn't bent quite that bad.)

Kim relaxes for our first evening on the water as I take a look at the map for tomorrow...

Day 2:

Our second day we start to run more westward, towards the Wilderness Waterway, intercepting it at Oyster Bay, then run northwest to Harney River, where we will enjoy night two in the mangroves of southern Florida.

As I just sit back and relax while our little Honda does all the work, I know we've made this right decision for this long haul. Hey - we can pick up those paddles any time we want, right?
We enjoy just puttsing along and are a bit taken to discover, of all things, a lone Cattle Egret way out here in the mangroves!


A couple more hours and we are camped once again at another beautiful area, with plenty of time to start cooking. One of the nice benefits of staying on the chickees out here is the park provided porta-cans. Interesting how even a few of the comforts of home can be so appreciated out in the boonies!

Day 3:

Ok so today should be a bit interesting. The winds are up, and we elect to try "The Nightmare". This is another extremely tight trek through entangled mangroves that can only be accomplished at near high tide. The jouney would take us through the lower portion of the "mare" then we'd divert to the gulf, due to low water (low tide), and through the beautiful Rogers River, eventually to a nice chickee at Rogers River Bay.
The Nightmare is no exaggeration. Not only do we have to kill the engine, but literally have to pull our way through the tangled bushes in tight areas. This can only be appreciated by watching our video of the trip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYy8LeZn1Ec

About halfway through the "mare", we opt to head west to the gulf. Yes, the Gulf of Mexico. We enter this huge mass of water in our little canoe to find it dead calm, what a relief!

With the help of the Honda, it takes us a fair amount of time to locate the mouth of the Rogers River, as it is a wide bay-like entry, dotted with many, many, small islands. Round and round we go, until finally we are in what appears to be the river and start to enjoy it's abundant wildlife (again see the video also).
The upper end of the River is glass smooth, we back the engine down to a mere idle, and enjoy the birds as we creep along the channel.

Rogers Bay is also like a sheet of mirror, and is absolutely beautiful! We're glad to arrive early, set up camp and really enjoy this island of solitude amidst such a pristene environment.
I opt for a paddle around the chickee, while Kim just relaxes, taking a few pictures and enjoy.

We just sit back and enjoy a nice evening, watching the sun set behind a layer of thin clouds.

The moon appears as the clouds melt away, treating us to it's soft light for the evening.

We awaken to a beautiful sunrise, making this spot the most enjoyable of the entire journey.
We linger this morning, taking all this beauty and quiet in, before we launch for another day's adventure.

Day 4:

Today's trip takes us through mostly open bays and up to Plate Creek chickee, which is nestled against a small mangrove island in the middle of a large lake.

We arrive early enough to rinse out our clothes, do a bit of housekeeping, and enjoy playing with the numerous inhabitants of the campsite.

As I sit back and enjoy the cool eve, we're treated to another nice sunset.

Day 5:

It's our longest run today, about 15 miles, so we once again are very happy to have the little engine which makes the span a pleasure. It allows for a stop at Darwin's Place as we motor northward to what will be our final night at Sunday Bay.


Darwin's is an old homestead, made interesting by scattered remnents of the past. The video will give you a better idea of the homesite.

The most interesting artifact is this old conch shell, most likely remains of the past indian inhabitants of the many islands of the 'Glades. http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/natural/7/nh7e.htm

Having come roughly a hundred miles from Flamingo, we arrive at Sunday Bay (actually the sign was from way back...we never figured out their numbering system, but it certainly wasn't miles!)

We enjoy our last afternoon on the chickee, this one being the only one with a built in bench!

Day 6:

Our last day takes us northwest once again, through the Turner River system and back into civilization at Chokoloskee Island. The island is a thriving fishing community linked to Everglades City by a long causeway.

Dave has arrived to provide the shuttle back to Flamingo, but we opt to explore Chokoloskee before heading "home". We enjoy a visit to Smallwood's Store, a well-preserved reminder of days gone by here in the 'Glades, when it was once truly one of the most remote parts of the U.S.

What a journey we had. We'd planned to come back and do the Waterway for years, and now we can enjoy this trips for years in the future as we look back on another great adventure.
If you haven't watched the accompanying video of the trip be sure to take a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYy8LeZn1Ec http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYy8LeZn1Ec

Everglades Wildlife

I'll bet most people expect to see a lot of wildlife when they come to the Everglades. I know we did. We've all probably seen the same Disney or wildlife documentaries showing all the beautiful wading birds and alligators that are supposed to live there. Well, they still do but in much smaller quantities than I knew. From what I've learned since we arrived, over 90 percent of the beautiful birds that inhabited the area since the 1930's have disappeared. Would I have ever loved to have seen this area over a 100 years ago!

On our whole 100 mile journey on the Wilderness Waterway, we saw very few birds. Many of the birds were killed off at the turn of the century by plume hunters. Because of the fashion rage at the time of adorning beautiful bird feathers on articles of clothing, high prices were paid for the feathers on many of the birds that lived in the glades. Rookeries so thick there were nest on nearly ever branch filled the swamps. Plume hunters would hunt the birds during breeding season when fledglings filled the nests. This is a time when the bird's feathers are the most beautiful. They would shoot all the adult birds, pluck them of their wanted feathers and leave their carcasses there to rot. The fledglings in the nests would be left at the mercy of the hawks and vultures that patrolled the area. Thankfully, this practice was put to an end, but not before much damage was done.

Of course, the same thing was done with the alligator. The story with the alligator is different. For whatever reason, the American Alligator has made a much bigger comeback than the birds have. Habitat destruction through drainage of the glades and pollution are probable causes of this.

That doesn't mean you won't see anything when you visit the area. We did find pockets of wildlife in different areas. A couple of the best are the Royal Palm area and the Loop Road of the Tamiami Trail. Probably the bieggest concentration of alligators I had ever seen were on the Anhinga Trail. They were in every nook and cranny along the trail.

Since it is breeding season, I was lucky enough one morning to watch and hear the males bellowing to the females. Watching them arch their back and stick their heads out of the water and roar was an experience I'll never forget. The water would vibrate above their bodies. Often, I would find 2 gators next to each other bellowing to some female I couldn't see.

The Anhinga, or "snake bird" as called by some, can ben seen nearly everywhere there is fresh water. You will either see it swimming with it's head and neck sticking out of the water catching fish or drying it's wings on a sunfilled branch.

The Anhingas had fledglings in their nests with snowy white babies squawking for food.

The Great Blue Heron is a large predatory bird that will eat just about anything. I found myself amused with their antics.

A few other common birds found in these southern wetlands are the night herons and the green herons.

I spied a flock of blue winged teal that were late in migrating north for some reason.

We caught several sightings of the Swallow-tailed Kite. It is a beauty to watch as it sails through the skies on it's search for insects.

Perhaps the bird we saw the most often, was the osprey. In some places, such as Flamingo, there were dozens flying around in view of each other. Nests were sometimes only hundreds of feet away from each other. This bird has definitely made a comeback!

Key West!

Having lined up the ferry ride to Dry Tortugas, we opted to leave a day early and do Key West...wow! What a fun place! Dave offered to do the driving, the only challenge was to get three people's clothes, food & camping gear into the back of the Jeep Rengade! But Kim said she'd ride in the back, even if it was tight, and boy it was....I couldn't get a pix of the rear compartment, because things were crammed in every corner and stacked to the ceiling. Oh well, we're off to have a weekend of fun!

I guess we had all forgotten how beautiful a drive it was. With a TGIF attitude and nothing but white beaches and blue-green water, we were off & runnin'.
First stop in Key West was Mel Fisher's Treasure Museum and shop. Nathan's (my oldest Son) grandfather, Lou Tilley, was a key stockholder in Treasure Salvors when the Atocha and it's $400Million in treasure was found. Thanks to Lou supplying the two large tugboats that help make the discovery possible. BUT, that's another whole story, so check out http://www.melfisher.com/ and if you really want the whole story, get a copy of Eugene Lyon's book on the Atocha, it's great!


Having done the Atocha thing, we moved on to the Key West museum, where we actually became part of the exhibits! Even Dave decided to get into the act, and boy, do he ever!

Kim & I discovered the art of Mario Sanchez and immediately fell in love with it's simplicity, and 3-dimesional details, Dave disappeared, I think to have a date with Marilyn downstairs!

Back outside, we perused the shell and sponge shops, walked along the beautiful harbor, and tried to make ourselves into art once again.
Kim's stamina for window shopping was unending, Dave & I opted for a cold one and some shade on a nearby harborview bench. We were all waiting for the Sunset Festival - Key West's nightly street performers fair.
As the sun became a dull red, and the crowds grew, we were caught by the very first act...what a show, juggling sharp objects, even directly over folks heads, and lying on a bed of nails with someone walking on top of you for the finale!

But Kim's favorite was "CatMan", yes a really crazy, goofy Frenchman who trains cats to do acts similar to tigers & lions at a circus....the pix tell the story!

I guess I must admit, my personal favorite was the one-man band...what an act...check out the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAKuXEvMnH8