Florida: Ten Thousand Islands Marsh Trail

The beautiful little blue heron on the Marsh Trail in the Western part of the Everglades in the Ten Thousand Islands.  Its a great trail for bird watching and very different at different times of year.  Below is the little blue heron in the swampland. 

Florida: Bottlenose Dolphins

Dolphins are a predictably in the waters of South Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands, weaving through mangrove channels and open bays with effortless grace. Bottlenose dolphins often travel in small pods here, riding boat wakes, hunting fish in the shallows, and surfacing with playful curiosity. Seeing them in this quiet, wild maze of islands is pretty cool.

Florida: Alligator Alcatraz

I guess Alligator Alcatraz is for real.  I heard in the news that the Trump administration built a "prison" for illegal immigrants in the everglades.  I was horrified... not for the political reasons, those I care less about either way.... but I cared about building a high-traffic facility in the middle of the beautiful wilderness of the everglades.  Don't destroy my everglades with any large complex please!  

Additionally - there are signs just everywhere.  Like this one below.  Do they really need to advertise a prison this much?  

Florida: Large Creepy Gator in Big Cyprus

There was a colossal gator on the other side of a swampy watering hole along the side of the road.  One of the biggest gators I've seen.  We watched him for ages, and eventually, he started to stir with the weird noises we were making, and we were able to watch him swim off into the water in Big Cyprus Nature Preserve.   

Florida: All of the Pelicans!

I love pelicans.  I think they are my favorite bird.  I love how they fly and look like dinosaurs.  

Brown pelicans are one of Florida’s most iconic coastal birds, instantly recognizable by their massive bills and prehistoric silhouettes. Watching them glide inches above the water or plunge head-first for fish feels almost Jurassic, as if they’ve barely changed since ancient times. Awkward on land but remarkably graceful in flight, they embody Florida’s wild, timeless shoreline.

Florida: Osprey in their nests

Marco Island’s coastal skies are often graced by majestic osprey — large fish-eating raptors with impressive 4–5 ft wingspans that patrol the Gulf waters in search of their next catch.

These birds are also known for their large stick nests, which you’ll frequently spot perched on channel markers, utility poles, dead trees, or other tall structures near the water. Built from sticks and other materials, these nests can be reused and expanded year after year, becoming substantial platforms that osprey pairs return to each breeding season.

Ospreys typically begin nesting in late fall through spring in Florida, laying 2–3 eggs and raising their young in these exposed yet strategic habitats that offer wide views and easy access to fishing grounds.

Florida: Shipwrecks in Goodland

Goodland, Florida is the town next to Marco Island and like a world away.  Out in the harbor, you can see a few sunken ships that need to be removed.  

Florida: Ochopee Post Office

Ochopee Post Office is the smallest operating post office in the United States - in the middle of the Everglades.  Surely there's a huge need for a post office in the Everglades!

Florida: Empty property on side of gravel road

It amazes me the properties that are within the Everglades.  On the Turner River Road in Big Cyprus, spotted these two properties.  The top one has a gator lurking behind the fence of the property.  The bottom one has a chair next to the mailbox behind a no parking sign on a gravel road.  Swamp-lands!