Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge

Today we went to the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge to walk around the boardwalk. The weather was nice and there wasn’t a lot of people there when we arrived at 9 am. We saw that they offered a free tram tour but it was filled up so we just planned on doing the walk. When we got back to the visitor center, we were told that we were welcome to join the tour if the last 3 people didn’t show up. When they didn’t arrive, we took the tour. The tour guide, Don, was fabulous. Even though we have been there several times, I always learn something new! He was very knowledgeable and you could tell he enjoyed sharing his knowledge with others. We probably will sign up to go with him again just so we can hear him share more information!

I learned about the sawgrass blade and felt the edge of one. If you move your finger along the edge in one direction, the edge is smooth, but if you move your finger along the edge in the other direction, you can feel the sharp saw-like edges. I also learned that if you estimate the length in inches from an alligator’s tip of the nose to his eyes, that is how many feet long the alligator probably is.

We stopped near the levee and learned about the history of the water flow in the Everglades. We also learned about pythons and alligators. We were given a little time to walk to the fishing pier and we saw a great blue heron watching the fishermen. It was funny when one of the men caught a fish and the heron hoped he would get the fish but the fish was returned to the water.

It was a wonderful tour and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has time to take it. It fills up fast, so you want to call ahead and reserve your spot.

Other activities are scheduled like Sunday photo shoots and bird walks that we want to check out. We are also thinking about volunteering here but I tend to act on impulse too quickly so I'm trying to be patient and think about it before jumping in with both feet. We might want to check out the other activities to decide what we want to volunteer for.

Original photos by Pat Hensley