It was time to head south from Perry.  Some of the things we saw along the way were many, many orange groves.  It was difficult, probably impossible, to capture a picture showing the oranges on the trees.  We also passed many large horse ranches.  Some of the entrances cost more than most peoples houses!  Jo was also intrigued by the Panther Crossing road signs.

We are in Trail Lakes RV park, in the middle of nowhere.  It is beautiful but amenities are few and far between.  Nearby Everglades City has a small convenience store.  Beyond that, the closest grocery store seems to be about miles away although there is a nearby gas station.

We have a banana tree in front of our trailer and picked some green ones before we left.  Hopefully they will ripen so we can eat them.

We planned to stay here for 9 days, working on our Marketing business but also see the local sites.  There are more that we thought.  One day took us to the Big Cypress National Swamp where we learned a lot about the local habitat.  While there, we saw a cormorant, gar, alligators and manatees.  They are a really strange looking marine mammal who live along side the gators.

Manatee

We had found a small diner less than  miles from our campground , Joanie’s Blue Crab Cafe, and had to check it out a couple of times.  The first time was for a local brew.  The second time, we shared a basket of alligator, Indian Fry Bread, shrimp and a chunky veggie salsa.  We tried a side of fried green tomatoes.

One day took us to Ft Myers to take in a Twins Spring Training Game.  We’ll write a separate page!

We decided to check out camping possibilities at National parks.  With Dave’s senior pass, this is an inexpensive way to camp.  There are two within 11 miles of Trail Lakes.  We had to drive down to check them both out.  On the ride, I glanced to my right and saw ALLIGATORS just across the canal.  Oh my!