Travel Day To Flamingo - (Everglades National Park)

Well, we hugged our hosts and left our little piece of Key Largo paradise this morning.

It was only about a 70 mile drive from there to the Flamingo Campground in Everglades National Park, and over half the mileage was within the park itself. The area known as Flamingo, with its visitors center, marina, and campground, is 38 miles into the park at the end of the road.

Since we had the truck/fifth wheel and the Jeep, we thought they might charge us two $10 entrance fees, but they didn't. They treated us like a motorhome with a toad, but they weren't real sure what to do. So, it probably depends on who's working when you arrive. :)

They do ask you if you have canoes or kayaks and they charge a $3 launch fee for each boat you plan to use.

After driving through miles of not-very-scenic landscape, we made it to Flamingo around noon, check-out time. We decided to splurge and get one of the 41 new electric sites ($30 per night, $15 for Amercia The Beautiful Senior Pass) if any were available. Fortunately, there were a few.

Ah, but there was a small glitch. Because of a problem with the Flamingo water pumping station, the campround is operating on only what is currently in their tanks. They estimated three to four days of water although they hope to get it fixed before they run out.

What that meant was that they are only allowing campers to pay for a day at a time. I suppose they don't want to have to give refunds if the water runs out and people have pre-paid.

We needed to take on water, and I asked if we were restricted from filling up our tank. They said to fill it all the way. I got the impression they understood the fully self-contained units could stick around longer if their tanks are full.

The dump station and fresh water fill are in the middle of the campground which is a series of one-way roads each with six or seven long pull-through sites. Depending on your site, you might have to drive all the way around the campground to dump or take on water and get back to your site.

Our site - #26 - happens to be on the same road as the dump station and fresh water fill. So it was easy to stop and dump and take on water before parking.

We eventually got parked around 1:00.

The sites here are huge with lots of space in between. It's not fancy and there isn't really any privacy and very little shade, but we can't complain about sites being too close together. You could put another site between each site and there would still be more room than at many RV parks, much more room than the parks in the Keys. :)

We knew there would be no cell service here. It cuts off about 10 miles before you get to Flamingo. I put up the Wilson trucker antenna and connected the amplifier even though we heard that didn't work either. We get a faint signal that goes in and out, so we are basically relying solely on our satellite internet for communications.

After getting settled, we rode bikes over to the marina. I've been hearing the fishing is great right now, and I wanted to check for guides, boat rentals, etc.

On the way back, there was a nice little paved trail along the Florida Bay that connects the marina and visitors center to the campground.

Back home, we didn't really do much. I rode around and met some really nice folks in the campground. Then we had quick dinner and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Between the heat and mosquitoes (we tried to eat outside to no avail) and needing to get some work done online, I think getting the electric site was a good choice. Now we just have to get our bearings and decide what activities we want to pursue.

I'm sure we'll find some things to take pictures of as we hike and paddle. See ya! :)