Boats, Birds n Gators

by Jeff · September 11, 2020

This story is out of sequence, it is from our trip to the Keys in March.

We decided that no visit to south Florida would be complete without the obligatory stop in the Everglades and an Air Boat ride, however…

Being the type of travelers that we are, we hate using big companies or the usual touristy stuff when exploring anything. We had already booked a room for two nights at the Hotel Redland in Redland/Homestead. This is an historic hotel with some interesting decor and check-in was interesting. The reception area looks very 1950’s-ish and has a deserted air about it. You make your way upstairs to the second floor via a period staircase and make your way to the rooms. They are kind of updated, but not really. Roger Whitaker’s “King of the Road” comes to mind…No phone, no pool, no pets, ain’t got no cigarettes”. There is no phone, a bare minimum of outlets, questionable locks on the glass sliding door leading to the furnished communal patio and an air of age to the rooms even though they have been lipsticked. Would we stay here again? Absolutely! Walking distance to fabulous food and central to the Everglades area in an historic location. Just take care to maintain traveler security as you would anywhere else and don’t expect 5 star dining on site (walk over to Chefs on the Run!) nor mattresses from the Wynn in Las Vegas.

One more digression before the everglades…Chefs on the Run!!! This little restaurant is take out or reservation recommended. They have a great little dining room that, if you get there at opening, you may share with Chef/Owner Jodrick.

This little place has the best burgers I believe we have ever eaten! Peruse their menu at https://www.chefsontheruninhomestead.com/ and just feast your eyes on those photos of real burgers, not something made up for a photo shoot. We stayed in homestead two nights and ate here both nights and would definitely recommend this place to anyone, anytime, anywhere. We believe that this place is worth a drive from anywhere in central/south Florida.

So, on to our Everglades adventure.

In doing our research, we found that there are a number of airboat tour companies in the Miami/Homestead area that are licensed to take you into the grass and let you get your tour on. They run the gamut from solo airboats to 30 passenger rigs. Our criteria was: Semi-private, small enough boat to get good guide service, inexpensive enough to not break our tour budget and Eco-friendly. We settled on the River of Grass tour company (https://www.riverofgrass.com/) and were so very happy with that choice! We were there in the dry season (read slow) and set up a semi-private tour. The owner was great with emails and billing questions and called us the night before to verify that the weather was going to cooperate for the tour. We met at the rendezvous point and followed the rep to where the boats launch and after introductions with our boat mates (a wonderful Canadian couple) we were off. Yep, you read that right…only 4 of us on the boat with our captain. Speaking of our Captain (yes, Coast Guard Certified Captain), Robby Price was raised on the river and is extremely knowledgeable and competent on the water and grass with his 700 horse power boat.

After a very professionally thorough safety briefing, Captain Robby explained what we were going to do and see before leaving the bank. They had plenty of ice cold water, rain jackets just in case and of course hearing protection. Robby was very amenable to the desire to use my camera and 150-600mm lens as well as everyone’s cell phone cameras.

With a snort and roar, our engine came to life and we quickly headed out into the River of Grass. Robby was the epitome of a patient teacher, explaining the ecosystem and the balance precariously maintained within it. He described the threats of the invasive species like Boa and Anaconda snakes to the indigenous species and the measures being taken by Florida to mitigate these threats. We learned that the round craters we had seen from the air are actually alligator nests and that the dirt they dig out of the deep (as deep as the alligator is long, roughly) nests are where much of the larger tree life takes hold and bird species make their homes.

The dry season means that the water in the river is concentrated, so all the animals and fish are concentrated as well to the deeper areas. Yeah, I know, we had no real idea that the everglades/river of grass is indeed a real river, relying on rainfall to maintain it’s levels. Back in the day (1950’s) everyone thought that the Everglades was a brackish (salt and fresh water mixed) swamp that could be drained (tried and failed). Now we understand that it is a freshwater ecosystem that is maintained and fed by ground and rain water. There are thousands of waterfowl, alligators and other species that feed on the multitude of fish and fauna here.

As Robby is explaining this to us, we come around a bend and see our first Alligator! E and I had been of the definite opinion that we did not want to go to one of the Alligator “farms” and see the typical tourist animals being fed chicken and we had no need to pet a baby. This is why we decided on the tour we took. Robby had to swerve out of the chanel so we missed the alligator, who made a beeline into the grass as we came to a stop. The chance encounter even took Robby by surprise as we watched the ten plus foot animal disappear rapidly. He took this opportunity to describe more of the habitat and ecosystem to us, before describing a bird that he wanted us to see.

There are thousands of birds in the Everglades but one of the most colorful is the Purple Gallinule. This bird is in the rail family and lives amongst the lily pads and alligator mounds.

The number of different birds was simply amazing out here on the river.

Captain Robby showed us a great cross section of the river, showing us little coves and holes and taking us to see his partner Bob. Bob posed for pictures but didn’t seem to like the noise from my rapid fire camera…he came over and nudged the boat right at me feet and seemed very disgruntled at the sounds as I fired away. When we realized he didn’t seem happy, I did stop shooting on auto fire and that seemed to make him happy.

Just down the river we spotted a mom and baby hidden in the tree roots and grass. We all agreed the babies were cute.

It seemed like forever that we got to tour around the grass and Robby made it a very fun experience. At the end of the tour he got out in the flats and opened up the beast attached to the back of the boat and had some fun sliding around and showing us what the airboat would do at speed. When we got back to the launch it seemed like we had been out all day but also seemed to be too short.

We had come together, as two couples of strangers and a fifth wheel captain and seemed to have forged a bond for a while out on the water while taking in the wonders of the River of Grass. We saw sights that we tourists had never seen and Robby led us through those experiences like a guiding light.

I will leave you with some random shots of the river. I can’t wait to go back to the River of Grass and take more photos and experience it even more deeply.