Canoeing with Marge en la Manigua

Back seat driver (actually she steers.)
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

Marge and I went canoeing the other day in Everglades National Park. If you click on the link you can see more pics of gators and herons and shit.

Traveling through this freaking thick ass manigua and bumping into snakes, crocodiles, and gators at every turn... I kept wondering how the Native Americans that lived here (the Tequesta, Calusa, then the Seminoles) managed to actually live here! Still, it was very cool and very beautiful.

What can I say... I'm a Swamp Rat!

Maybe it's cause I was born and raised in Florida, but I find great pleasure in trudging through the muck of the Everglades. It's beautiful country. Personally, I prefer canoeing and hiking, but I'm starting to like horseback riding through the trails. If you want see our swamp ( which my wife is quick to point out that it's not a swamp at all, but a river of grass) I'd suggest Everglades National Park or Big Cypress, but if you want a small taste of our wetlands without running into a gator I'd highly recommend Chapel Trail in Pembroke Pines.