Allegator Alley

[jiacinto]

I drove I-75 today to Naples and Bonitca Beach. It was so beautiful seeing the West Coast of Florida. I enjoyed it a lot. I walked along the beaches in S.W. Florida and it was beautiful. Too bad Collier County is heavily Republican. How much is housing there? I might purchase a house there.

I then took 41 back and it was interesting. It was in the middle of nowhere for like 100 miles. I saw lots of interesting birds, canals, and wildlife. I got freaked out when I saw a sign that said "Panther Crossing". I am starting to like this area. Tommorow I may drive to Key West.

[Breezy du Nord]

1. My uncle's down in that area now also

I hope you both are having a good time.

(Not to say that he's with you :P)

(Is he?)

[StClone]

2. Panther Crossing

Be afraid, very afraid you might be the one to hit one and push the species closer to the brink. Florida Panthers would rather not be be seen and I do not know of any human attacks.

Florida has affordable housing from all that tourist moolah.

[Zorba607]

3. dig it dude

It's surreal to see iguanas and parrots just out and about. Crazy lizards around here.

[Droopy]

4. Glad to hear you are becoming accustomed to your new home

I drove down to key west once from my home in Ohio. I was in between jobs and I just wanted to see what it was like. Key West, as I remember it, is heavily commercialized and populated. There ain't a whole lot of space down there. I rolled through turned around and rolled right back out. I found a nice older hotel on Marathon Key that was situated on a lagoon. It was out of season and I had the whole place almost to myself. I had a nice time relaxing on the beach and having a few cold ones. Watch out for the mosquitos after dark though. They're viscious.

[Habibi]

5. I've done that Alligator Alley trip.

I hope you come to like Florida better, Carlos. I've visited my mom down there several times now--in half the cases because she was majorly ill and needed looking after--and am trying to figure out if I need to move there in order to keep closer watch of her. I loved visiting, but living there would be quite different and I don't know if I could handle it.

So, succeed! and be an inspiration to those of us who may be following you down . . .

[carpetbagger]

6. I used to live in Collier County.

Housing is quite expensive near the beach, but inland it's not as expensive. While I enjoyed it in high school, I think it might be a bit too confining. There's not a whole lot to do among 250,000 retirees. You're also right about the political elements there. It's basically Eisenhower republican-retirees mixed in with younger Dixie republicans. However, it's not a monolith at all.

41's a great road. Look up Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park on nps.gov. It'll have some good information on some roadside sites, a few short trails (long hikes of more than a few miles through the everglades, in my opinion, are nutso.) The road to Flamingo in Everglades NP from Homestead is another good thing to do, although I'd recommend waiting until the mosquitos clear out a bit, maybe late September or so.

Enjoy the keys. They are incredible.

[jiacinto]

8. Yeah I drove right past them

nt

[bicentennial_baby]

7. Hilarious Alligator Alley Story

My ex was in his early 20s, hitchhiking around Florida, and he gets picked up by these older hippie-types. They seem cool, yet a little off. They pull out this bag of cookies, and tell him that the cookies are dipped in LSD. They offer him one, but tell him he can only have it if he eats it right there and then. Being a less than brilliant young man, he says ok, and chomps down the cookie. All of a sudden, they pull into a rest area and say "we have to drop you off here, get out & good luck"

So there he is, in the middle of Alligator Alley in the middle of the night, about to trip on acid by himself. He tries to remain calm as he starts to trip...and then he hears the hissing. He could'nt figure it out at first, what the sound was. Then in the very low light he makes out some shapes in the distance and realizes that it's alligators! Now he's panicking, tripping his ass off, thinking he's about to be devoured by alligators.

Luckily, there was a picnic area at the rest area, with a roof thing over it. As fast as he can, he scurries up onto the roof, and there he remained, all through the night, tripping, scared out of his mind, listening to gators...

The moral of this story? Never take cookies from strange hippies. :P

[NightTrain]

9. I've driven Alligator Alley

Never did see an alligator, though. :-)

[madfloridian]

10. Alligator Alley 25 years ago was creepy.

I remember thinking what if we broke down. That was all I could think about, looking over the waving grasses. I don't know what it is like today, because I won't go there again. Never. I'm chicken.

[jiacinto]

11. That's why I went with a full tank of gas

and drove during the day!

[Habibi]

12. I thought it was fascinating

seeing it for real as opposed to what I'd been "warned" about. Kind of like going into a "rough" neighborhood only to discover it's just an old-fashioned urban community, with established families and businesses and not scary at all. Of course, it helped a lot that I saw numerous fisherpeople en route who would have helped out a frightened yank. Or so I imagined. Floridians don't actually sic alligators on tourists, do they?

[madfloridian]

13. Uh, I don't remember anything being there except Everglades.

One or two fishermen maybe.

[Habibi]

17. Hm.

Well, this was in the fall of 2000, for what that's worth. I spotted quite a few fishermen, and remember being suprised. I guess I expected a more isolated landscape.

[madfloridian]

18. Someone told me a lot of changes have been made.

Actually it was 1973, my hubby just reminded me. It was the feeling of utter isolation for most of the distance. I remember the road was narrow, and I hear they have widened it.

I will take your word for it, because I will not do it again.
:evilgrin:

[dmr]

36. I think mmmarke is confused

Alligator Alley is a very long, near straight drive through the Everglades, connecting the west with Broward County. The frightening aspect of AA is it's past history of automobile accidents on that long lonely stretch, but since it's been widened, it's a bit safer (head on collisons were the biggest problem).

There is nothing else along AA except the glades and wildlife - very beautiful and serene.

[xJlM]

14. Still pretty creepy 20 years ago

I lived all over Florida back in the early eighties, and hitch-hiked all over the state. For a hitch-hiker or a homeless person, it's an interesting state. Lots of places to go, free showers near the beach, and weather warm enough to sleep outside most of the year. If you don't mind the snakes, and eat plenty of garlic so the mosquitoes don't like the smell of you.

[argyl]

29. A friend and I hitchhiked through Alligator Alley(Naples to Miami?) in1968

We were only 16, it was getting dark, and we saw alligators all in the water. There was maybe six inches of room between road and water. Also saw a few Seminole homes on poles. I'd only seen that in books before. The road was desolate and we'd resigned ourselves to walking it all night; no dry or safe place to sleep.After several hours a truck driver came along and said he was going to Miami (there was really no other destination on the road at the time)and so we got off Alligator Alley.

Haven't seen it since. I'm sure it's much improved now but then it was a barely two lane strip of asphalt right through the Everglades.Hadn't thought of that story in years.Scariest part of the trip actually happened in Mississippi, but that involved two legged rather than four legged predators.

[jiacinto]

30. Are you thinking about 41

That sounds more like the road you're describing.

[argyl]

31. If 41 goes from Naples to Miami then that's it.That's the only time I've

been to Florida, and the term "Alligator Alley" seemed plenty appropriate to me, giving the experience I just described.Where does the real Alligator Alley start and stop at? I've heard the term Alligator Alley for years and just supposed it had to apply to the road I was stuck on.If you have roads worse than that one for gators then I guess I got off lucky.

[jiacinto]

32. Okay

There are two roads.

I-75 goes from Ft. Lauderdale to Naples. That four lane interstate is called "Allegator Alley".

US-41 extends from Naples to Miami and it is only one lane in each direction. There is nothing for like 100 miles after Naples ends and until you reach the Mickousoukee (Sp?) casino.

[xJlM]

43. Tamiami Trail

That's what the locals used to call 41. And yeah, it runs from Tampa to Miami. Actually I think it runs all the way to Georgia, heading north. I wiped a 750cc three cylinder jap bike out on 41 in 1984. Still got the scars today...

[jiacinto]

44. 41 is a cool road

nt

[Cheswick2.0]

15. nevermind

.

[Cheswick2.0]

16. Cool things about Florida

if you go to the beach at 6 in the morning it is stunning to sit in the clean morning air and watch the ocean, still and clear with the seagulls and no other people.

In western broward county there are flocks of parakeets that are the children, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren of the condo escapees. Parakeets are not native, but there are flocks and flocks of yellow birds living west of Hiatus Rd.

In a similar situation, there are monkeys living in the wild (and in the city) in Dade County. The got free from the Miami Zoo during Hurricane Andrew. Bayside in Miami is a good place to go shopping if you want to hear caribean music, eat Cuban food (yum) and see a variety of people. At least it used to be nice. East Las Olas is even nicer but the atmosphere is different.

[madfloridian]

19. Florida does have good things.

We live near downtown, not rural, but we have raccoons, possums, walking the neighborhood at night. I will hear a bump late at night just outside the door. A raccoon family is checking to see if the garbage can lid is tight. If it is, they walk away.

The possums are worse, as they will freeze when we turn the patio light on.....and they hiss. They will NOT back off.

We live fairly near a lake famous for its bird life. There are white ibises in our yard a lot catching bugs. They are very tall and just hop over the fence. They act like we are not here.

There is another one that looks like it, but much smaller, like a miniature white ibis. I don't know the name for that one.

[Gato Moteado]

33. actually, ibises aren't really that tall....

i wonder if you're seeing wood storks, they look like white ibises only much bigger.

[madfloridian]

35. This is what it looked like. Wood storks have weird heads.

On Edit: I did find that the white ibis is about 27 inches. These could be the small ones who come in bunches. I wonder if the other is an egret of sorts. It is almost as tall as I am, about 5'6", and very white....but does not have the plumes.



We had 3 of these outside our door at one time. Beautiful, acted like we were not even in the yard. I searched white ibis under google. I have a picture of a wood stork.

They really have a funny head.

[Gato Moteado]

38. i suspect the large birds you saw must have been...

...herons or cranes then. i originally assumed woodstorks because they have the downturned bill like an ibis...in fact they used to be called wood ibises.

[Gato Moteado]

27. actually, the wild monkeys predate hurricane andrew....

...broward and dade had wild monkeys way before hurricane andrew and if i'm not mistaken the metro zoo didn't lose any primates, or at least they recaptured them all after andrew.

there is a place in south dade called monkey jungle and they are responsible for a good portion of the naturalized monkeys in the miami area. there's also a colony of monkeys in a trailer park on the gulf coast that got established from escapees during the filming of tarzan movies way back when. also, there's a huge colony of wild squirrel monkies in homasassa springs.

and, yes, parrots abound in miami...not just parakeets. i've seen macaws and other large central and south american parrots all over the place down there.

i used to work with wildlife when i lived in miami. i developed programs to teach children and adults about native fauna. i also captured a lot of non-native wildlife, specifically large reptiles. i remember calling miami metro zoo right after hurricane andrew and offering my services for free, hoping they'd let me help them recapture some of their escapees.....they weren't interested. a few weeks after the hurricane i found one of their hornbills in a tree right outside my office and called them up. they never sent anyone over to pick it up. i never could understand that.

[jiacinto]

37. Interesting

nt

[Gato Moteado]

39. i just kicked around in the exotic wildlife in florida website....

...and it says that rhesus monkeys have been established in florida since 1930, vervet monkeys since the 1950's, and squirrel monkeys since the 1950's.

http://www.wildflorida.org/critters/exotics/resultsClass.asp?taxclass=M

[jiacinto]

40. Are those the monkeys from which AIDS started

nt

[Gato Moteado]

41. i'm not sure.

they certainly can transmit other diseases to humans.

[jiacinto]

42. like which ones?

nt

[morningglory]

46. I was working on an archaeological survey on foot in the Big Cypress

Swamp. Lots of hunters have camps remotely scattered throughout, and they are never locked, in case someone needs a rest or a can of sardines or something. We used to pop in and just see what was in them, anthropological curiosity. One of the great free things was on the high hammocks, the Seminoles have planted wild oranges that are extremely beautiful--no road film--and almost as sour as lemons. They are very refreshing. When we found a tree, we would load the backpack with a couple. The most fascinating thing to me was the way they used fire. Fires sweep through there constantly, and we were afraid of fire, being on foot, so we always had a plan. But it is interesting that the owners of the camp cabins would burn their little hammocks during wet season. There is always standing water in the "river of grass". Their cabins were built on high ground. Annually they burned the hammock. All the animals on the hammock would run into the water 40 feet away. Then the next dry season they set another fire which burns everywhere but the high hammocks, which has recently been burned. All the animals would run up on to the high hammocks. It strikes me if I had a house in Montana, would get together with the neighbors, plan to cut the tinder away from the houses and set fires during the wettest season, with rain on the way.

[jiacinto]

47. Interesting

nt

[GalleryGod]

20. Key West? Stop in to "Captain Tony's" the REAL Bar

Not that tee shirt outlet,"Sloppy Joe's".
God I miss the Keys!:toast:

[greatauntoftriplets]

21. Captain Tony's! Love the place.

LAST MANGO IN PARIS Jimmy Buffett, Marshall Chapman, Will Jennings & Michael Utley
I went down to Captain Tony's to get out of the heat
When I heard a voice call out to me, "Son, come have a seat"
I had to search my memory as I looked into those eyes
Our lives change like the weather but a legend never dies

He said, "I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And "Jimmy, there's still so much to be done."

I had a third world girl in Buzios
With a pistol on each hand
She always kept me covered
As we moved from land to land
I had a damn good run on wall street
With my high fashion model wife
Til I woke up dry beneath the African sky
Just me and my Swiss Army knife

I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And Jimmy there's still so much to be done

We shot the breeze for hours
As the sun fell from the skies
And like the sun hw disappeared before my very eyes
It was somewhere past dark-thirty
When I went back to the head
I read upon the dingy wall
The words the old man said

I ate the last mango in Paris...
....so much to be done.
Why don't we wander and follow la vie dansante.

[Gato Moteado]

22. i used to hang out at "the bull"...

...it's a cool bar in key west.

also, carlos, don't miss the sunset at mallory square when you're in key west. it's a trip.

[greatauntoftriplets]

23. OOOHHHH!

I've been there too, flush_bush. Was trying to think of the name of the place and could not. Thank you. Great music bar. Also, Turtle Kraals.

[SiobhanClancy]

34. My favorite Key West bars..

Garden of Eden
Schooner Wharf
Flying Monkeys
Carolines
Green Parrot
Meteor
Half Shell Raw Bar
Crabby Bills
Capt. Tonys
The Bull
The Whistle

[Gato Moteado]

24. hey carlos....

....did you get my message in your inbox regarding the everglades?

as far as the panthers go, there are only a few dozen left in all of florida. they are what's left of felis concolor (mountain lion or puma) east of the mississippi. the eastern subspecies (f.concolor coryii), commonly known as the florida panther, is smaller than the other subspecies and they once ranged over a good portion of the south eastern united states. now they're confined mainly to big cypress national preserve and everglades national park. sadly, in my four years as a volunteer in the park i never saw one. hardly anyone ever does.

[jiacinto]

25. Ok

So are they trying to bring it back?

[Gato Moteado]

26. yeah.....

....they have captured all the known ones and collared them with radio collars so they can track them. they also have a captive breeding program. they are fighting all kinds of problems including over development in sensitive areas (each male panther needs fifty to a hundred square miles of territory). also, because the population has gotten so small, a lot of inbreeding has occurred and they are finding that a lot of the panthers have heart problems and some of the males are sterile.

[jiacinto]

28. Okay

So there is hope.

[lynndew2]

45. My Mother lives in the Ocala national forest

So I am not to familiar with alligator alley. But when I was in NY I would drive down 2-4 times a year. That entailed driving through "sleeping dog" country. Through the Carolinas and Georgia. We saw lots of "Sleeping" Dogs.

OK sorry, was being an @ss...lol. but it is true

[AntiBushRepub]

48. Back in the day

It was the extension of SR 84 and was a really tiny two lane road with no shoulder and nothing for 100 miles. It used to have ghost stories told about it by kids. There were alot of wrecks, and alot of people were hit after the cars had broken down.

The same with the old school 7-mile bridge. (which is still there you can fish off of it) It was two lanes but looked about as wide as one modern traffic lane, I can't believe cars used to be that narrow, if 2 busses or trucks came by, there'd barely be room for the trucks... but there'd never be room for the mirrors, and I even know someone who drove a tour bus down there who smashed off his driver side mirror on the 7-mile bridge.

-An