Wednesday, we decided to flee urban civilization and head out into The Swamp (which isn’t really a “swamp” at all, but rather the Everglades — a peculiar kind of wetlands best described by Stoneman-Douglas as a “river of grass“).

Land of the American Alligator (and also the only habitat to also include Crocodiles, though the gator likes the fresh water parts of the Glades and the crocs prefer the brackish waters at the along the coasts of the Glades. Everglades National Park offers visitors both.)  They’re pretty, right?

At the end of the universe (off I-75, south of US-29), we found Everglades City.

It’s tiny.  It’s quaint.  It’s a bit creepy.

(Especially the part where their big claim to fame is the Skunk Ape.)

And I’m sure when it’s season (winter), it’s a great place for canoeing and kayaking and fishing.  In summer, it’s a great place for mosquitoes and dragonflies.  (Seriously, the dragonflies were everywhere.)

And tiny little sand fiddler crabs.

Pretty setting, though.

From there, we headed east on Tamiami Trail and mailed some postcards from the “Smallest Post Office in the USA.”

Hubby was overly amused by the black-headed vultures that were all over (maybe waiting for us to run out of gas and water in the middle of nowhere).

I was amused by this thing outside the Miccosoukee Indian Village Gift Shop because from one angle it looks like the guy’s tickling the gator under the chin and from another angle it looks like the gator got himself a decent bite.

Still, the Everglades are beautiful.

*Not to be confused with the Miami Thrice foolishness on ESPN.