Everglades Alligator Farm

 This was a fun and unexpected day.   We had planned to drive to the northern part of the park and take an airboat ride; however, as we were exiting the park we saw a sign for airboat rides and it would save us miles and time.  The rides were at a place called Everglades Alligator Farm.  They advertise as one of the oldest alligator rescues of alligators in Florida.  We decided to check it out and we are so glad we did.  Not only do they offer airboat rides, but also shows of feeding the alligators and a man "wrestling" an alligator.  The farm also has a small zoo which we enjoyed.

The first thing we did was watch Tyler feed the alligators.  He told us that alligators

 only eat an average of once a week.  He threw chicken into the enclosure and the alligators would not head toward it until the chicken hit the ground and they heard it.

This alligator has a name and it is "Chunky."  He is the biggest one in this pond of over 300 alligators.  He knows his name and is a favorite of Tyler told us that over 75 of the alligators they are are rescued from people who get them as babies or the gators are found in areas where they could cause trouble with people..  

After the feeding, we took the airboat ride.  

The captain of the airboat was "Psycho Paul.  He was a crazy and fun guy.  He loved to do spins and get everyone at the front of the airboat soaked.  Fortunately we were sitting back but we still managed to get a little wet.

This sign explained that airboat are very loud so ear covers are used.

  The ear covers helped but the boat was still very loud.

The airboat.

The last show we saw was Tyler "wrestling" with two different alligators.

Tyler was an interesting young man.  He told us that he started college majoring in biology but he dropped out after one year.  The reason...after graduation, he would have a huge financial debt and still would not be doing what he really liked and that was working with alligators.  He began working for a pizza restaurant in the evening and volunteered at an alligator rescue during the day.  Twelve years ago, he got hired on full-time at the Everglades Alligator Farm and loves every minute of his work.  Honestly, how lucky is he to come to work every day in shorts, tee-shirt and flip flops.  After the show, we each got to hold a baby alligator.  Of course, the alligator had his mouth taped so he could not bite anyone.  I had pictures of Carol and I holding the baby but of course, I can't download them to this blog right now.

After the show we talked to Tyler and told him that we had not yet seen an alligator in the wild.  He told us a secret as to how to find them in the wild.  He told us to drive along the road in the park to Flamingo Campground.  Watch for markers like the one above along the side of the road.  These markers indicate thee is a drainage ditch nearby.  He said to do this when it gets dark and take a flashlight.  Shine the light into the water in the ditch and lots of time you will see an alligator.  He said he like to take photos of wildlife and he gets some good ones using this method.  I am sure it would work but Carol and I are not going to be out after it gets dark do find alligators.

We kept passing this fruit/vegetable store and wondered about the strange name so I looked it up on the internet one day as we drove by.  In the 1950's Robert's family had a fruit/vegetable farm.  Robert's dad set Robert up with a vegetable stand to sell some of their crops.  No one would stop so his father painted a huge sign saying, "Robert is here."  People began to notice the small boy with his vegetable stand by the road once the sign was made and they began to stop and buy vegetables.  The name stuck and has been enlarged to a full-fledged business.  Robert is still at the store.  In fact, we saw him behind the counter.  He sells all kinds of interesting vegetables.   He sells milkshakes that you can get in almost any kind of flavor or combination of flavors so we each had one.  They were delicious.

Although the sign below the Purple Martin Houses can't be read, the sign says "These Purple Martin Houses are located in the southernmost part of the United States."  Everyone here is trying to latch onto the "southernmost" thing.

It was a another very nice and interesting day.  Back at the camp we relaxed.  Since I had no blog to do, we watched a DVD and wee in bed by 9:30.  During the night we got a rain which caused the tree branches to sag and hit against the bedroom slide.  We decided to put the slide in because we didn't want any damage to the finish or roof.

Tomorrow will be our last day here.  When I originally planned this trip, we were going into Miami one day that we were here; however after experiencing the crazy traffic when we went to Key West, we were not too keen on going into Miami.  We decided instead to drive to the northern part of the park and take a tram ride through Shark Valley.  It would be a wise decision.