Naples

November 17, 2020

Naples

Monument Lake Campground Big Cypress National Preserve Ochopee, Florida Day 4

I began as usual with my walk around the lake. Every morning while I walk, Tim does his yoga, stretching, and workout.

Today, I saw this small alligator swimming close to the edge.

As I rounded the northern end of the lake, I saw this guy. He was about 8 feet long and laying on the bank just 20 feet from the gravel path that I was walking on. I was by myself, no one else around, and I felt a little creeped out. I turned around and walked back the way I had come. I went to the RV and grabbed my bike and went back to take this picture. I stood behind the picnic tables and used my zoom…

We really wanted to spend at least one day biking in Shark Valley while we were staying here. Shark Valley is a portion of Everglades National Park. It is a 15-mile loop into the everglades. It is an amazing place to cycle, one of our very favorite places to ride. Unfortunately, Shark Valley is submerged in several inches of water after Hurricane Eta. Hopefully it will reopen about December first but we had also heard that it could take 3 months for the water to recede enough to allow visitors back in. All the rain from the entire state of Florida either flows into the ocean, the gulf, or through the everglades. Because the water is so slow moving and the vegetation is so dense, it takes a long time for water to be dispersed. So today, we had no real plan. We decided to drive west to Naples and get groceries and supplies for our time in Everglades National Park. We took a bike ride on the bike path in a fairly congested area of town. It was loud and crowded and culture shock after being in such a remote area.

We stopped at this construction site…because when we are biking and we see a construction site, we always have to stop. Tim still likes looking to see how things are being built!