Everglades National Park

We spent 10 days in January in Ft. Lauderdale at an RV "parking lot" where we were packed in like sardine cans. Starr joined us for 5 days to see if three people could live in the rig without killing each other. The day before she arrived, Bill got hit with the cold and cough he must have picked up at my brother's house. Starr and I disinfected every surface, but I finally came down with it the day she left. It hit her a few days later back in Minneapolis. We all survived, but nobody is completely recovered yet.

Since Bill was down sick, Starr and I took a drive down to Everglades National Park, somewhere I have always wanted to go. Every time Bill and I came down to the Florida Keys in the past, we never had enough time for the Everglades.



The best part of the trip was the Anhinga Nature Trail. We saw tons of wildlife. Anhingas don't have oily feathers like ducks. They dive under the water to hunt fish. They spear the fish with their bills, then swim to the top, toss the fish in the air and swallow them head first. When they get out of the water, they spread their wings to dry.

Bill finally felt good enough to get out, so we went over to Ft. Lauderdale Beach for a couple of hours. After Starr left for the frozen North, Bill and I went back to Everglades National Park and took a back-country boat trip, where I got the picture of the Great Blue Heron.