Wrestling arena
Pay a visit to :-
| Miccosukee Indian Village | Pennekamp State Park | |
| Jungle Queen | Hemingway Home | |
| The Smallest Post Office in the USA | The Pelican Man's Bird Sanctuary | |
| Wooten's Airboats | Delnor-Wiggins State Park |
The village can be found on US 41(SR 90) west (Tamiami Trail) approx 35 miles from Miami and US 41(SR 45) south (Tamiami Trail) approx 73 miles from Naples.
The Miccosukee Indians originally belonged to the Creek Confederacy and migrated to Florida before it become part of the United States. During the Indian Wars of the1800s most of their people were removed to the west but a few families escaped and hid in the Everglades. The Miccosukee people have always been very independent and kept themselves away from others until the Tamiami Trail was built in the 1930s. Only then did they accept some of the new world's concepts. In 1962 they were federally recognized as an Indian Tribe and now have education, health and public safety departments which combine appropriate aspects of Indian and non-Indian practices.
The Miccosukee village has a museum, nature walk, craft area, souvenir shop and an alligator arena where you can watch alligator wrestling and get to hold a baby alligator! Across the road from the village you can take an airboat ride or have Indian or American food at the Miccosukee Restaurant.
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Wrestling arena |
Annual special events are the Indian arts festival...Dec 26th-Jan1st and the Everglades music and crafts festival... 4th weekend in Jul.
The Jungle Queen is located on Seabreeze Boulevard (A1A) Fort Lauderdale, opposite south beach park and just a short walk north from the Sheraton Yankee Clipper hotel.
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| Jungle Queen |
The Jungle Queen has been running for over 60 years and at 7.00pm each night the riverboat leaves Bahia Mar docks and heads for a private island up the New River for an evening "all you can eat" bar-b-que dinner followed by a variety show. On the way you have commentary from the captain while passing interesting sights and beautiful homes owned by the rich and famous. The dinner comprises of bar-b-que ribs, chicken, shrimp and all the trimmings. Drink is free until you finish!, although there is a charge for some alcoholic drinks. The variety show is outside with bench seats and a small stage. On the evening I was there the show comprised of a singer, comedian and magician who were all very good.
At the and of the show you board the boat again for the moonlit ride back. click to visit jungle queen
Ochoppe Post Office is not something you would consider making a special journey to see but if you were traveling along US 41 (SR 90) west (Tamiami Trail) between Naples and Miami it is worth a visit.
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Ochopee sign |
Post Office |
Located approx 70 miles from Miami and 39 miles from Naples, this Post Office is considered to be the smallest in the US and started life as an irrigation pipe shed. After a fire in 1953 to Ochoppe general store it was converted into a Post Office and is still in use today. Daily business often includes requests from tourists and stamp collectors for the famous "Ochoppe Post Mark". The property now belongs to the Wooten family. Note...the post office is not open every day but you can still post a letter.
Wooten's are found on US 41 (SR 90) west (Tamiami Trail) approx 30 miles from Naples. Although there are numerous places in the Everglades to experience an airboat ride, Wooten's and the Miccosukee Indians are the only two I have visited with Wooten's being the better in my opinion because of the varied trip which includes shallow and deep water, grassland and mangrove swamp. The Miccosukee Indian trip was mainly over shallow water and grass.
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Airboat Captain |
Alligator approaches boat |
The Airboat was developed for frog and alligator hunting and takes you safely at speed over the wetlands. There is a choice of large or small airboat at Wooten's with the smaller going into less accessible places than the large one, so there is more chance of seeing the wild life. I used the small airboat which carries 6-8 people with the trip lasting about 1 hour and consider this to be the best option although it is more expensive. During my trip the captain was very informative about the area and it's history and stopped several times for passengers to meet the local inhabitants (see alligator picture). There is a souvenir shop where you can also buy a drink or a bite to eat. Note ..you will need insect repellant...Mosquitoes!
Just off the coast of Key Largo the park boasts lots of varieties of tropical fish and about 40 species of coral. There are ship wrecks to explore and a very popular feature is a 9 foot tall bronze statue "Christ of the Abyss". This is an ideal place for snorkeling and scuba diving.
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Snorkeling boat |
Christ of the Abyss |
When in Key Largo I visited Captain Slate's Atlantis Dive Center at mile marker 106.5. and took a snorkel trip, which lasted about an hour. The boat had a small part of the bottom made of glass so you could see the fish and coral below. Capt Slate's also offers glass bottom boat rides, scuba diving and scuba instruction.
The picture of "Christ of the Abyss" was taken by my daughter. click to visit capt.slate's
Hemingway's house can be found on Whitehead street Key West. This elegant Spanish Colonial mansion built in 1851 was bought by Hemingway in 1931 for $8000 and he lived here until 1940, writing many books during his stay. Some 40 or so cats live in the house, many of them descendants of the six-toed feline companion of Hemingway.
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Hemingway Home |
The Pelican Man's Bird Sanctuary.
This is an open air home and rehabilitation center to over 50 different species of Florida birds. Staff, plus over 300 bird loving volunteers rescue and rehabilitate thousands of injured birds and other wildlife each year. Dale Shields, founder of the sanctuary is the "Pelican Man". He is known worldwide for his dedication to wildlife.
The Sanctuary is at Sarasota and can be found by going north from St.Armands Circle towards Longboat Key and turning right onto Ken Thompson Parkway. This is not a large sanctuary but very interesting and if you are lucky as I was when I visited, Dale Shields may take you round himself. He is very interesting to talk to.
Stroll the boardwalks and view Pelicans, Egrets, Owls, Herons, Hawks, Gulls and many others! and finish your tour by visiting the souvenir shop.
Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park
Just off Gulf Shore Drive Naples, Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park is the most popular park in southwest Florida. The pass serves as a natural outlet for the Cocohatchee river. The variety of vegetation here creates a lush wildlife habitat, featuring sea oats, sea grapes and cabbage palms but the main feature in the park is the mangrove forest.
A variety of recreational activities are offered with access to the beach along a system of connecting trails and boardwalks from 5 car parks. Picnic tables, grills, bike racks, public telephones, changing rooms and outdoor showers are provided. A picnic pavilion, observation tower and boardwalk to Wiggins Pass can be found at the very north end of the park. Food, drinks and other merchandise can be purchased at car park 1 along with the opportunity to rent snorkeling gear and other beach equipment.
There is a boat ramp with access to the back bays, Cocohatchee river and the Gulf of Mexico providing excellent fishing. The most popular place to fish is Wiggins Pass. No fishing is allowed on any other part of the beach.
Shelling is a very popular year round pastime but collecting live shells, including starfish and sand dollars is prohibited.
A day ticket allows you to re-enter the park on the same day so you can spend the day here, go back to your hotel for a bite to eat and then return to see the sun set.
Copyright 2002-2003 Site by D.Goddard
