beneath the mangroves

This week we were boondocking at the Big Cypress Natural Preserve and it was an absolutely beautiful location. After the insanity of the management area swamp last week, this was like a blissful vacation (except for the job thing, but that’s for later!)

The Preserve had air plants everywhere! In all of the trees! So it now makes sense that I have killed all the previous air plants I purchased, seeing as how they thrive in Florida’s humid climate, it is no wonder they died. There were also alligators all over the roads! It was so amazing seeing them just chilling on the grass, not caring about the cars zooming by. We were also not the only ones fascinated by them, all over the place people would just pull off the side of the road to get some pictures of them lounging in the sun. Steve Irwin would be happy to see that.

In the beginning of our trip, Dakota and I weren’t sure if we should bring our kayaks at all. The racks for them were hundreds of dollars, and we thought it would likely bring down our gas mileage, especially over the thousands of miles we will be traveling. In the end, we figured we might as well so we could get some use out of them and this week made us realize we made the right decision. Dakota found a kayak trail that meandered through a swamp and through a tunnel of mangroves! You could put down your oars and just pull yourself through the trees! It was so cool!! We were also kayaking along with alligators right in the water with us. We even saw a momma gator with her lil’ colorful babies.

And if that wasn’t enough time spent among the mangroves, we also did an airboat tour! Our guide was awesome and would do these crazy drifting moves and splash us all with water. The airboats themselves are pretty loud, so we didn’t get to see much wildlife, but traveling through the mangrove maze was enough to make us very happy.

Apparently, we arrived in the Everglades right after they had some record-breaking cold temperatures that killed a ton of fish in the waterways. There were just thousands of dead fish in all the water, everywhere. It was really eerie but I am guessing there were some pretty plump and happy gators.

Speaking of fishy circumstances: I some come pretty carpy news this week. (Carpy, get it? Instead of crappy, to go with my fishy pun…)

I was informed by my boss that I had only two weeks left to work at Dog Podcast Network. My contract was supposed to be a minimum of 12 months and then was to be expanded, but due to poor management I guess that isn’t happening and I get to bear the brunt of that. My boss tried to tell me he was “transitioning” me into a part-time position that paid less than minimum wage and he expected me to be happy that he was “throwing me a lifeline”. Needless to say, I didn’t take his generous offer.

Dakota and I just began this adventure traveling the U.S. working remotely in our camper and we are paying for a wedding in October. It’s been a bit of a nightmare. Dakota was so supportive, but I was a pretty big mess. But we will be ok and I will find something. It was an incredibly toxic work environment anyway (not the people, the team was freaking amazing, but the boss made life hard for all of us), and I would be lying if I said it didn’t feel like a weight was lifted off my soul.

Skunkape Research Headquarters

Anywhoo, enough of “Dick Who Should Not Be Named”! We had even more adventures in the lovely Florida Everglades, like eating alligator and visiting the Skunkape Research Headquarters! Unfortunately, we never spotted the Skunkape, but not from a lack of trying! But we did spot the elusive Florida Panther…

Museum of the Everglades

We were able to visit the Museum of the Everglades and we were so pleasantly surprised! This little museum did an absolutely incredible job displaying the local history! It was SO good!

“First opened in 1927 as a commercial laundry, the building that now houses the Museum of the Everglades is one of several historic structures still standing as a testament to the town’s time as a once-bustling center of business and the region’s first County seat. The museum’s permanent and rotating exhibits provide visitors with an in-depth look at over 2,000 years of human history in the area and tell the stories of those adventurous enough – and tenacious enough – to settle Florida’s Last Frontier.

Faithfully restored to its original, 1920s Collier-era appearance, the museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located 35 miles east of downtown Naples and less than 100 miles from Miami.”

We even sent out some mail from the smallest operating post office in the U.S. It is about as big as an outhouse!

So it was a roller coaster of a week, but I can still say there isn’t anything else I would rather be doing, nor anyone else I would want to be doing it with.