Fresh Baby Alligators on the Tamiani Trail
October 28, 2006
baby gators!
The sunday after our offsite, we rented another car and drove west along the Tamiani Trail. For a day trip, this was the most satisfying leg.
We took a nice walk in the Shark Valley area, where we saw pretty scenery and lots of birds, including the modelesque anhingas that like to fan out their wings in the heat, as if they were just posing for a picture.
We took a nice walk in the Shark Valley area, where we saw pretty scenery and lots of birds, including the modelesque anhingas that like to fan out their wings in the heat, as if they were just posing for a picture.
But the total highlight of the trip was baby alligators!!! Well, in any case I figured they were baby alligators, cuz that's what they look like (see the pic?). Giant heads, adoooraable beady little eyes, tiny little scaly bodies. They were just cuddling in some grass at the side of the trail. You could see Mama swimming in the water next to the road. It was sooo cute. Part of me wanted to just scoop them up and take them home to my bathtub.
The other part of me wanted to eat some gator nuggets.
the lovely anhinga
Yah, I've realized I have this weird habit of eating animals that I find incredibly adorable immediately after cooing over baby versions of that animal when I travel.
We ordered a giant Everglades sampler plate of food at a Native American run tourist restaurant across the highway from the Shark Valley area. It was really greasy and not exceptionally tastey, but it was exactly what I wanted -- alligator nuggets, frogs legs, along with some regional/odd foods that you can't get anywhere else.
Next, we headed to further west, and took a drive through the Big Cypress area. It was really pretty, with lots more trees -- tall ones rising up from the water, their roots flooded.
ibis, big cypress area
Just off of US 41, the Big Cypress area offered a nice variation in scenery from the flat saw grass areas. It's full of wildlife too. We saw white ibises (ibi?), blue herons, anhingas and even 2 white tailed deer, jumping just alongside the road!
Last, we headed all the way to the gulf coast to the 10,000 islands area. Unfortunately, we didnt have enough time to explore, but I did get a chance to dip a toe into the Gulf of Mexico, and see some pelicans floating in the calm waters. Just FYI, the Gulf of Mexico felt kinda icky. It would have been nice to see some more of the area -- my tourbook touted ancient shell mounds and excellent kayaking.
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baby gators!
the lovely anhinga
ibis, big cypress area
birdy
baby gators swimming back to momma
some other bird??
sea of grass
some other bird
ibis
big cypress area
big cypress area
I'm really into eating bizarre foods you can't get anywhere else, so my Everglades trip just had to include eating gator. Luckily, we found this great little restaurant right across US 41 from Shark Valley. It was Native American run and the menu had a nice little blurb in the front about the local tribe in the area. Besides the usual fare of burgers and sandwiches, they served the ultimate Everglades platter touted as a sampler plate of all the traditional and Everglades-specific foods. It consisted of gator nuggets, frogs legs, this donut/fried bread type thing that supposedly was a traditional staple of tribe, cole slaw, fries and some other stuff i can't remember. It was a humoungous platter. It really didnt taste great or anything, and I really can't say how "traditional" the food really was. I kinda get the impression that only other bizarre-food obsessed tourists like me would ever eat some of the things on the platter. But it was awesome nonetheless.
I did think the alligator I ate in the Amazon (Iquitos, Peru) was much better than the gator served here. The gator nuggets in the Everglades were rather gamey instead of meaty and chickeny like in Iquitos.
I did think the alligator I ate in the Amazon (Iquitos, Peru) was much better than the gator served here. The gator nuggets in the Everglades were rather gamey instead of meaty and chickeny like in Iquitos.
Please don't eat me!
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