ALLIGATORS EVERYWHERE

I didn’t get a single mosquito bite this April when my family and I spent the morning at Everglades National Park looking for alligators and other wildlife on an airboat. Although the Everglades is home to one of the largest mosquito populations in the world, we were told that the mosquitoes only come out at night and early morning. We didn’t even apply bug spray.

What we did see were a lot of American alligators.

Our airboat driver knew right where to take us, and many of the gators even have names and personalities. Some were so close to the boat we could touch them, though that is not encouraged if you want to keep your fingers.

We did come upon one airboat driver who was standing in the canal facing off with a huge gator. Apparently this guide was one of the original Florida Gator Boys and was the only airboat guide crazy enough to get in the water. It was quite entertaining but also a little frightening, imagining what we’d be seeing if the gator suddenly decided he was ready for lunch.

Our hour-long trip through the wetlands only gave us a small taste of this 1.5-million-acre national park. I loved it and found the Everglades to be strikingly beautiful, mysterious, and teeming with wildlife. Hopefully we can continue to preserve this amazing park for many generations to come. –Julie, April 2016