Wednesday February 9, 2022 - We had another rainy day on Tuesday, so we ran errands and stopped by the Daytona Racetrack for a quick picture. Wednesday was our last day at Tomoka, so we did another 15 mile bike ride, to the town of Ormand Beach. There were two town parks connected under the bridge to the beach, that crosses the intercoastal. The two parks were connected by a boardwalk, that were full of fishermen. We had packed a lunch and found a nice spot for a picnic and a crossword puzzle. Then we went back to the seafood market for more crabcakes to keep in the freezer for later, and since we were in the area, we couldn't pass up another trip to dairy queen. It was a clear night, so we rode our bikes to the Outpost for one last sunset at Tomoka.
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Daytona Beach to the Everglades
The Ormand Scenic loop
1 mile Boardwalk connecting the two parks...it was a windy day!
A pelican joined us for lunch
my Valentine
Last Outpost sunset
Thursday, February 10, 2022 - We left Tomoka early on Thursday, as it was a 5 hour drive to the Everglades. We booked three nights in the national park, at Long Pine Key Campground. This campground doesn't have any electricity at the sites and no reliable hot water in the shower house (they use solar to heat the water here). We stayed here last winter and loved this campground, so we were happy we could fit it into this trip. We had the afternoon to get set up and go for a bike ride.
Site 17 at Long Pine Key
Sunset from our campsite
Friday, February 11, 2022 - Today we headed over to the other section of the Everglades, off of Rt 41. First we went to the Shark Valley Visitor Center, which had a very small parking lot and a lot of people (luckily we got here around 9:30 and were able to get in, but there weren't a lot of free spots left at this point). There is a 15 mile tram loop from this visitor center, which they allow you to ride your bikes on. The ride was crazy, as there were really big alligators ALL along this trail (we saw at least 50 alligators over the 2 hours we were here). It was such a fun bike ride. Half way through the loop was an observation tower with a ranger that was able to answer all the questions we had come up with on the 45 minute bike ride there. After lunch, under a tree, we headed to Everglades Airboat Expeditions for a 1 hour airboat ride. We absolutely loved this! Moe, had lots of Everglade knowledge and would stop every so often to tell us/show us something. The rain held off so we didn't get wet, and the stormy sky made for some great photos.
15 mile ride on Alligator Alley
Hard to see, but there is an alligator hanging out behind us
Another alligator, just off the trail in the grass
The observation tower
I couldn't take enough pics of this cool concrete structure
View of the Everglades from the observation tower
The ranger called this guy Grumpy, and said he spends a lot of time underneath the observation tower
Everglades Airboat Expedition was a small operation...no building or office just a few airboats. It was nice, as they only took out 9 people at a time.
These birds, called Purple Gallinules were found everywhere in the lily pads which they would walk across
We saw quite a few alligators on the tour
Clouds coming in
Airboat Video!
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