1 day, 2 parks

The plan for today was to drive from Big Cypress National Preserve to Everglades National Park. The campgrounds were pretty close: about 35 miles as the crow flies, or about 90 minutes driving. But this created a small problem where we would be homeless for at least 3 hours between check-out time at the old campground and check-in time at the new campground. We stopped along the way to charge the Tesla, then found a self-serve car wash where we could wash the car (again) and finally wash the trailer. When we left the car wash and continued to drive towards the Everglades, Greg saw a sign to Biscayne National Park. So of course we had to drive there!

The problem with visiting Biscayne National Park is that it is mostly water, specifically the boundary waters just south of Miami. But it turns out there is a small visitor center that was surprisingly busy. There were places to fish, boat tours, guided kayak tours, and a short ranger-led walk along the shoreline. Plus a Junior Ranger program! We didn’t want to wait for the ranger-led walk, so we did it ourselves. We also got the obligatory park selfie and the obligatory patch for our collection.

Finally, we reached the Everglades. Our GuideAlong audio tour gives suggestions for a 1-day visit. Since we’re visiting for 3 nights, we stopped at the visitor center to get info on the ranger-led programs and on places to kayak. There is an evening ranger walk that we will do after dinner tonight, which should be far cooler than doing a walk during the heat of the day. Our campsite seems pleasant though it was a tight fit for our relatively small RV. The campground has no hookups and we didn’t bring our solar panels on the trip, so we have to plan carefully.