Girls day out

Scorpion Anyone?

Hello Everglades Adventurers! Gator Gil here with the latest updates about our Everglades Tours and our Tour guides Marlowe and Gator D. This time of year is one of my favorites out in the Everglades because it’s the time of the Great Migration.  That’s right.  Our human friends from up north are coming down now to enjoy our sunshine and warm days, and we love having visitors from Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania…yesterday I even met a set of mates from Labrador, Canada!  That’s a long trip, folks.  But worth it, they said, because of all the wildlife they got to see during the Full day Adventure Tour with our guide Marlowe on their buggy ride and nature drive and, of course, the airboat!

We got some real surprising news yesterday when Greta the Great Blue Heron flew in with the latest gossip.  It seems that there is a big old crocodile who has traveled up from the south to enjoy our ecohood.  The squawk around town is that he’s been basking on the bank of the canal down by the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk by the Fakahatchee State Preserve.  Imagine!  A crocodile this far north!  Why, it’s like having a celebrity walk through the door! Some folks think alligators and crocodiles are the same, but that’s not so one bit.  The crocs tend to grow a bit bigger, and they are really the ones who are green.  Or, greenish.  I’d say it’s more like olive drab, but I am more particular about color than most other alligators I know.  Gators are black, like charcoal. Crocodiles also have a bottom tooth that comes over their upper jaw, and we gators don’t have that.  All our teeth on our upper jaw go straight down.  We all belong to the same family, Crocodilian, but the only place in the whole world where we live together is right here in the Everglades because the water is just the right blend of salty and sweet for the both of us. I hope I get to meet him soon and give him a warm welcome.  Our tour guide Marlowe said, next time she sees him she will challenge him to an old fashioned wrastlin’ match.  Now that I gotta see! Maybe next time, adventurers, I will have a picture to show you! Speaking of Marlowe, we sure are glad to have her as part of our Everglades Adventure family, she has been a huge help helping me type up my blogs. It’s hard for me to hit the right keys on my swamputer with these big claws of mine!

Got an email from our guide, Gator D, about one of his recent trips. The subject line read: I’M STILL ALIVE…BARELY. Gator D wrote “Hey Gator Gil! It’s not everyday that I get to spend time in the Everglades with a group of refined women from New York and today was my lucky day! My boss warned me that I was in for some fun today but frankly I was not really prepared for what came my way! I was a little concerned when I saw Paula get in the Everglades tour van with high heels, a bag from Victoria Secrets, and another hand bag the size of a small suitcase and asking “will we be close to a Starbucks where we are going?”!  Boy was I happy that we did not get stuck in the swamp buggy or airboat and have to get out and push! Can you imagine? Caramel Mocha in one hand, Two HIGH HEELS in the other! How would we manage?  Oh well, I’m just funning, cause frankly, I had a blast and certainly enjoyed the diversity these ladies brought to the plate today! I totally enjoyed their company and the questions they had about this special place! It was my pleasure for sure to be in their company today, they made me laugh and the day went by too soon for me! I was impressed by the friendship these ladies shared and the camaraderie their “Literary Club” had. See ya later alligator- D” Haha! I love that guy Gator D. He’s such a ham!

Well folks, I’m gonna swim over to Turner River and meet up with some fellers there, do a little fishin’, and mess with Greta- she gets her feathers ruffled up so easy and all.

Howdy, there, Everglades Adventurers! Whoo-wee.   Just a few weeks ago I was complaining because my toes were too cold to type, and this week we’ve had some unseasonable hot weather.  I actually saw some people from a place called Britain sweating today!  That is one reason I am glad I’m cold-blooded.  I never have to worry about all that bothersome sweat.  It looks awful uncomfortable.  If I need to cool down, I head to the mud hole, or deeper underwater, which is so cool and peaceful. So I just had to show you this wonderful picture that my friend Julie Poggemann from way yonder in Michigan took while she was out here last week on a full day Everglades Adventure tour with us.  I’ve told you about gossipy old Greta the Great Blue Heron. Well, not only is she crackers at keeping track of the comings and goings of all us down here in the Everglades, she is also an EXCELLENT hunter.   I know for a fact the tour group stopped next to Greta to watch her do what she does best—catch lunch!  We heard the whole van oooohing and wowwwwwing as far back as Chester’s Good Time Gator Hole.  (Not that I would hang out in a place like that, no sir.)

Thanks again, Julie, for emailing me your wonderful photograph.  If you look in the back there, you can see my brother Wader.  He wanted to make sure you knew that was him and not his twin brother Clyde. Til next time!

Howdy,Adventurers! And greetings from the Everglades! Gator Gil here writing from my secret hideaway in the grasses of the great Everglades.  As I told you last time, we gators are territorial, and this spot I’m in is my favorite place in all the Everglades.  I like to come here to think and sun and look at cute girl gators from afar.  I find this a peaceful spot for keeping up with my blog as I watch the ibis flocks flap overhead and far off in the distance I can here Ms. Greta the Great Blue Heron fussing at somebody for interrupting her lunchtime hunt.   Greta the Great has a big mouth, which is good for catching fish—and it’s good for passing on the neighborhood gossip, too! She heard that the guys down at the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters, which all of you explorers get to experience when you take a tour with Everglades Adventures, took out the 18 foot, 200 lb yellow-headed reticulated python a few weeks ago.  What a treat!  Like most of the animals there, she was rescued from some not-so-responsible owners and handed over to Rick when she was just a little thing—only 4 cute feet long!  Now she’s all grown up–and still growing.   I just love the way the sun sparkles on her shiny scales.  She’s the prettiest snake around, but don’t tell the others I said that.  Especially Polly Python, you know how she can be. It is mighty peaceful out here in the glades.   We’ve had quite a few visitors lately who we can hear crying from the tour van because they are so sad about going back to civilization.  I understand what they mean—I wouldn’t want to be civilized for nothing! Enjoy your day, Adventurers!  I hope to see you soon.

Hi there, Everglades Adventurers! It’s been a little while since I’ve dusted off the old swamputer to give you all an update about the cool stuff we’re doing out here in the Glades because it’s been COLD!  Well, cold for out here…my toes were moving so slow I couldn’t even type!

We’ve been having a lot of fun lately even if it’s been a bit chilly.  There are a lot of us out on the banks of the Turner River these days swimming and making sure everyone knows who’s patch of the river belongs to who.  We alligators like our territory, and the many people from the Everglades Adventure tours have had a great time taking our pictures.  The day before the cold front came through, Marlowe and a family from Kentucky (hi, Aikmans!) saw about twenty-five of us out swimming and lounging and taking in the warmth from the sun.  That was a GREAT day in the Everglades! Many of our bird friends are out, too, and our buddies, the turtles, have been coming out to sit with us in the sun.  There are many anhingas out, as well as blue herons, and a lot of egrets.  The Ibises come out, too, and their legs and bills are starting to show more pinky-orange color.

Marlowe and “Gator D” Dwight have had a ball showing people from around the world all the wonders of our beautiful home.   Now is a great time of year for us to people-watch, and we’ve seen all kinds of you guys:  people from Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Illinois, Michigan, and even a place called Indiana!

Well, it’s sunny here today and it’s going to be in the upper 70’s, so I’m going to head out of here and go find my favorite spot on the muddy bank.  I hope you and your family can come see us soon!

I’ll be lookin’ for ya!

Gator Gil

What an exciting week it has been! Some morning have been starting our with thick fog and light rain but then have turned into just spectacular days. The sun rises and burns off the fog and the winds shift and clears out the rain… leaving us with beautiful sunny days and a cool breeze. The alligators have been sunning as usual, and the birding has been excellent. Here are a couple photos of some brave women during the Interactive reptile exhibit on our full Day Everglades Adventure tour.

We had the pleasure of seeing 2 owls on the Swamp Buggy ride during the Everglades Adventure Tour, along with hawks and deer. What a beautiful day. The alligators and turtles also have been out sunning themselves and we have had some great photo opportunities to see them  while on the nature drive through the Preserve during the full day Everglades Adventure Tour.

Everglades Tour photos from our recent Full Day Everglades Adventure Tour. The alligator sightings have been numerous and the birding has been excellent.

What beautiful weather we have been having and wildlife galore! It is mid-November and we are just having wonderful experiences out in the Everglades. Here are a couple pics from a recent Everglades Adventure tour. One is of one of our wonderful passengers on the Swamp buggy ride enjoying an elevated view of the vast wet prairie. The other is of another brave soul hugging an anaconda! We are still seeing deer, and red shouldered hawks. The alligators are coming out in the sun more everyday to enjoy the sun.