Big Cypress National Preserve

Alligator Alley is I75 from Miami to Naples....aka the Everglades Expressway.   Distance between the two cities is about 100 miles....and the Seminole Indian Reservation exit is about 1/3 of the way. Several thousands of acres make up the Seminole Reservation...including the Indian owned Big Cypress RV Park where we spent the past week.   A very nice, extremely quiet and remote (nearest town is some 35 miles away....so don't forget your milk when you come!!) campground with many seasonal (winter) folks who come every year.....many from Ontario.

This sign welcomes us to the Reservation once we turned off I75 onto Billy Josey Road, also known as Snake Road.   The Seminoles are the only Indian tribe who did NOT sign any treaties with the US Government (to their credit), and as a result they were pushed from further north in FL to here in the Big Cypress region of the Everglades. 

The Seminoles are a very enterprising tribe....they own several casinos and they recently purchased all of the Hard Rock Cafes.  Now they are coming up with a new beverage called Hard Rock to compete with the likes of Red Bull and others.   The campground is adjacent to a 4000 foot runway here on the Rez, and we have witnessed the chiefs landing in one of two Gulfstream jets they own.  Another time while walking Ali I saw members of the tribal council taking off in a helicopter for somewhere.   So, even though they have the occasional rodeos here in a huge rodeo / entertainment arena, transportation for the tribal upper echelon is now private jets and helicopters!

Here is a photo of Pam with long time friend Margaret from Lancaster NH and her 'significant other', John.   Margaret and John came over to the reservation from Hobe Sound, FL where they spend the winter, to spend the day with us.   We took them to the Billy Swamp Safari on the reservation where we visited alligators, a Florida Panther and took airboat and swamp buggy rides through the swamps here.  It was a rainy day and we all got soaked pretty well on the airboat ride....but at only 3 miles from our campsite we were able to come back and have some tea and warm up.

The Swamp buggy ride took us past many different types of animals the Seminoles have "rescued" from a former exotic game hunting preserve here in southern Florida.  Here you see water buffalo and Ibis birds.   The birds are indigenous to the area and sit on the backs of the buffalo and pick at the bugs and flys....!

 

Swamp Buggy at Billy Swamp Safari

Another animal on the buggy ride is this very handsome Elan.  An Elan is the largest of the antelope family.

 



To the left is a banana tree.  Note the huge leaves that collect rainwater for the plant and funnel it to the root system.  The bananas grow in bunches like these and often are found to be very nice habitats for the tarantula spider.   So if you ever want to pick a banana in its own environment, do so very carefully!!  There is a very beautiful flower than blooms in season on the very end of that "roped tentacle" you see hanging from the bananas.  The next photo shows the blossom we were lucky enough to see.
 

 Here is the purple flower that seems to blossom as an oval shaped flower about 8 to 10 inches long....and then as the season progresses it seems to "peel back" like an onion, showing very colorful leaves.  Note too the roped tentacle that attaches the flower to the bananas above.   Very interesting.

Before leaving the area we were fortunate enough to catch Pam's cousin Patty, seen here, and her husband David, at home in Naples.   We made the drive to Naples to meet them...and got a tour of their very lovely home.   They took us to a very nice place for lunch and then we drove through the beachfront area of the city where we witnessed one huge mansion after another on the water.  Serious money in Naples for sure!!   Pam had not seen Patty and Dave for 13 years so it was a big event indeed.