Big Cypress National Preserve

While exploring Everglades National Park, we drove through a portion of Big Cypress National Preserve, north of Everglades, checked out its two visitor centers, had a picnic lunch, and a stroll along some boardwalks.

Jenn collected her passport stamps at both visitor centers:

Passport stamps

Exhibits at the Oasis Visitor Center:

Exhibits

A short boardwalk in front of the visitor center:

Boardwalk in front of visitor center

There were several alligators hanging out below the boardwalk; clearly on the park staff:

Alligator

A bunch of birds, too:

Bird

Continuing on, we stopped for a picnic lunch at Kirby Storter Roadside Park:

Picnic at Kirby Storter Roadside Park

There was also a boardwalk there through the swamp, a little less than a mile roundtrip:

Boardwalk

Boardwalk view

Info shelter

Swamp

Finally, Nathaniel P. Reed Visitor Center:

Nathaniel P. Reed Visitor Center

Also with a short boardwalk:

Boardwalk

A bit different kind of swamp from what we saw in Everglades.

Biscayne National Park

Biscayne National Park is one of the rare national parks that is mostly water, on the coast south of Miami, Florida.

We visited for a sail, paddle, and snorkel trip.

Entrance sign

Our boat:

Our boat

Heading out:

Heading out

Birds:

Birds

Map; we sailed out to Coon Point on Elliot Key:

Map

Sailboat

Snorkeling; I used my 360 camera, but had some technical difficulties, so didn’t get many pictures:

Snorkeling

Water

Other boats:

Other boats

Raising our sail:

Sail

Sailing

Other boats

Sailing

Below

Some paddling into the mangroves:

Paddle

Sitting up front on the way back:

Sitting up front

Lighthouse:

Lighthouse

Sailing

A fun excursion.

Everglades National Park

We explored several areas of Everglades National Park in Florida.

A map of the park:

A map in a visitor center:

Map

Entrance sign:

Entrance sign

The Royal Palm area of the park was closest to our campsite, with some nice walks:

Bird

Water lillies

Can you spot a turtle?

Turtle

Here it is:

Turtle

Tree

Also nearby is a relic of the Cold War: the HM69 Nike missile base:

HM69 Nike missile base

Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center:

Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center

Gulf Coast Visitor Center was under construction, so they used a modular building:

Gulf Coast Visitor Center

West Lake:

West Lake

Tree

Guy Bradley Visitor Center:

Guy Bradley Visitor Center

We were amused by Rock Reef Pass, elevation 3 feet:

Rock Reef Pass

Video

Video: bike ride around Long Pine Key Campground, Everglades National Park

A two-part video, with the route and photos, then a timelapse, of riding around Long Pine Key Campground within Everglades National Park.

Long Pine Key Campground, Everglades National Park

We stayed at Long Pine Key Campground within Everglades National Park, in Homestead, Florida. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A basic no-hookups campground within the national park. A little short for our coach, but we made it work.

Dates:

Check in: 2024-01-21
Check out: 2024-02-02
12 nights
We were going to stay 14 nights, but left early to avoid some nasty travel day weather

Weather:

Mostly cloudy
High temps ranging between 69-84°F, lows around 48-70°F
Little wind, gusts to 23 MPH, fairly sheltered by trees

Noise:

No road noise
No train noise
Negligible neighbor noise
Generators during the day

Site:

#6, back in, asphalt
Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
A little unlevel, high on right and front; used hydraulic leveling
Asphalt driveway about 36 feet long by about 10 feet wide; had to back into shrubs
Passenger side grass to hedge of trees between site about 30 feet
Driver side grass to road wedge-shaped, maximum about 30 feet
Picnic table
Fire pit
Clean site

Utilities:

No hookups
Used generator and solar for power
Used water bladder and pump to refill fresh water tank
Used dump tote and macerator to empty gray and black tanks

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 45-60 Mbps down, 16-22 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
AT&T: 145 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
Verizon: 25-41 Mbps down, 20-27 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
T-Mobile: 3 Mbps down, 35 Mbps up, 37-437 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
In Everglades National Park

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Basic campground in the heart of Everglades NP

Pros: Beautiful, large, private sites within the national park.

Cons: Most sites much shorter than listed and facing the wrong way depending on your configuration (motorhome or trailer) so you have to think creatively to get orientated.

Neutral: No hookups of any kind, so be prepared. We camped at Long Pine Key Campground in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Campground map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Not really long enough for our coach:

Our site

I got my bike out, for the first time in months (we sold Jenn’s a while ago):

Our site

A path to the nearby bathroom block:

Bathroom

Dish washing sink:

Bathroom

Inside the men’s bathroom:

Bathroom

We were staying inside Everglades National Park, and did a sailing trip in Biscayne National Park (posts coming on those in the next couple of days), so we added those stickers to our coach:

National Park stickers

A snake on the road:

Snake

Entrance and dumpsters:

Entrance and dumpsters

Info sign:

Info sign

There were some solar-heated showers:

Solar showers

Solar shower

An interesting way to park a coach; perhaps a bit against the rules, but a good solution to cope with the sites being too short for big motorhomes:

Other sites

Other sites:

Other sites

Tent sites:

Tent sites

The campground had a path to an amphitheater, where they did ranger talks (with my bike in the foreground):

Amphitheater

The Long Pine Key lake:

Lake

A nice campground, despite the lack of hookups. We’d be happy to stay here again.

Video

Video: Clermont to Homestead, Florida motorhome travel timelapse

A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 289 miles from Thousand Trails Orlando in Clermont, Florida to Everglades National Park in Homestead, Florida, including a picture-in-picture from the 360 camera on the truck being towed behind the coach.

Travel from Clermont to Homestead, Florida

We drove our coach 289 miles, about 5 hours of driving, from Thousand Trails Orlando in Clermont, Florida to Everglades National Park in Homestead, Florida.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading south along Florida’s Turnpike:

Route map

An interactive map, showing potential stops:

Leaving TTO:

Leaving TTO

Toll plaza:

Toll plaza

Sinclair Road:

Sinclair Road

Toll plaza:

Toll plaza

Entering the Florida’s Turnpike toll freeway:

Florida's Turnpike

Service plaza rest stop:

Service plaza

Our coach in traffic cams:

Our coach in traffic cam

Service plaza lunch stop:

Service plaza

Earl of Sandwich; it was a very nice sandwich:

Earl of Sandwich

We bought and activated a Sun Pass toll transponder for our truck:

Sun Pass

Another traffic cam shot:

Traffic cam

Florida’s Turnpike:

Florida's Turnpark

Fuel stop, alongside another Tiffin Allegro Bus (slightly newer):

Fuel stop

Hard Rock guitar building:

Hard Rock guitar building

End of the turnpike:

End of the turnpark

Entering Everglades National Park:

Everglades National Park

The entrance station, with a lot of traffic (other times we went through only had one or two cars):

Everglades National Park entrance

The ranger in the booth loved seeing Paladin on the dash:

Everglades National Park entrance

The turn to the Long Pine Key campground:

Long Pine Key

Campground entrance:

Long Pine Key entrance

Our site:

Our site

Universal Studios Florida Theme Park

On the other two days, we visited the Universal Studios Florida Theme Park.

Universal Orlando

The Simpsons characters:

Simpsons

Characters

Spongebob Storepants:

Spongebob Storepants

Jenn in a pineapple under the sea:

Jenn in a pineapple under the sea

Coming soon:

Coming soon

Shrek

Springfield:

Springfield

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter:

Harry Potter area

Knight Bus:

Knight Bus

Diagon Alley:

Diagon Alley

San Francisco:

San Francisco

New York:

New York

On another day, we started at Starbucks for some coffee:

Starbucks

The Brown Derby Hat Shop:

The Brown Derby Hat Shop

Beverly Hills:

Beverly Hills

Cars

Kings Cross Station:

Kings Cross Station

Diagon Alley:

Diagon Alley

We did the Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts ride:

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

Frozen butterbeer:

Butterbeer

Diagon Alley dragon:

Diagon Alley dragon

Selfie

Back to the Future:

Back to the Future

Finally, we got some Voodoo Doughnuts on the way out:

Voodoo Doughnut

More fun stuff. We’re not so interested in Universal properties, other than Harry Potter, so we basically went to the parks just for that, but enjoyed exploring the other areas too.

Universal Islands of Adventure Theme Park

While staying in the Orlando area, we spent four days at two of the Universal theme parks. Two of the days were at Universal Islands of Adventure Theme Park.

Universal Orlando

Islands of Adventure:

Islands of Adventure

Hogsmeade:

Hogsmeade

We enjoy the Butterbeer there:

Butterbeer

We did the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride:

Hogsmeade

We checked out many of the shops, and bought a few souvenirs, including some sweet stuff from Honeydukes:

Honeydukes

Hogsmeade

Dinosaur selfie:

Dinosaur selfie

Comic area:

Comic area

Leaving Islands of Adventure at night:

Islands of Adventure

Another day, we started out with cheese curds and margaritas at Margaritaville:

Margaritaville

Then went on the Hulk roller coaster, which was the first time we’ve both ever been on a real roller coaster, with inversions and everything. We survived!

Hulk roller coaster

Then we went on a much more gentle ride, Storm Force Accelatron:

Storm Force Accelatron

A Hulk popcorn snack:

Hulk popcorn

Spiderman ride:

Spiderman

And Skull Island: Reign of Kong:

Skull Island: Reign of Kong

Natural Selections for another snack:

Natural Selections

Hogsmeade:

Hogsmeade

We were going to go on the Flight of the Hippogriff ride, but they had a major delay, so we bailed:

Flight of the Hippogriff

Time for more butterbeer:

Butterbeer

Cat in the Hat and Things:

Cat in the Hat and Things

Caro-Seuss-el:

Caro-Seuss-el

Hat:

Hat

Finally, we enjoyed some Green Eggs and Ham:

Green Eggs and Ham

Fun times. Tomorrow, the other Universal park.

Fort Morgan State Historic Site

We explored the Fort Morgan State Historic Site in Alabama, at the end of a peninsula between Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

Here’s an interactive map:

Brochure

Museum:

Museum

This fort had quite an interesting history:

Historic flags

Battery Schenck:

Battery Schenck

Battery Thomas:

Battery Thomas

Roof

The famous phrase “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” was (perhaps) uttered near here, something we previously encountered in Idaho at the Farragut Museum at the Brig:

Damn the torpedoes