Took a trip into the closest entrance to the everglades – the Chekika Entrance. It is only about nine miles from the campground, so I thought it might be a good place to start. The gatehouse was all closed and boarded up, so there was no entrance fee. The drive leads into the parking area, and a wooden bridge that goes over the marshy sawgrass plain to a grassy hammock where there are picnic tables and a day use area. There is a small lake there as well, and from the accessible side of the lake, one could see alligators across the water.
There was also a short nature trail. I was a bit apprehensive because all around me there were sounds of small animals moving around in the woods. Most of them were small lizards and birds I am sure, but I have no idea what was really out there. There is an amazing amount of plant life as well.
After the actual day use area, I just drove around. There were a few guys fishing in the canal along the road, but there were also warning signs not to eat too many of the bass in the area, because they were high in mercury. I don’t think I’ll eat any bass from that area 
Lots of birds call the everglades home:
as well as plenty of alligator:
and even some deer.
Overall, it was a pretty interesting afternoon. The more southern entrances are more popular, and also have a couple of visitor centers that I think we will go see next week if the weather is nice. There is more to see down there, plus there are several hiking trails on the map that might be interesting.
Comments on this entry are closed.