We both happily left the Florida Keys on our way to the "Everglades" to get ourselves an "alligator"!!! We saw a few in the river on the way as we were driving.  We also learned that there are Florida panthers in the area, we had no idea, but unfortunately, we never saw any.
http://www.nps.gov/ever/naturescience/floridapanther.htm

We found the most amazing tour company that took us on an airboat ride in the everglades to find ourselves that "alligator"  and because it is off-season, we were lucky to get a private tour.

www.evergladestours.org/AirboatRides‎

It was crazy just how fast we were going and just how close we would get to the mangroves as we were speeding along...

And it wasn't long before we saw our first alligator.  We learned they are very territorial and are also loners...so you won't usually see more than one at a time

So off to find the next one...and it wasn't long until we found him...

And then we saw what our tour guide called......Swamp Monkeys....

Yes racoons...they actually live in the mangroves, even though there is no solid ground for them, just roots and water. They climb around the roots of these trees and in this case, hang in them.  They literally drape themselves in the branches, we got so close you could hear them panting from the heat, similar to when we take Gracie for a run in the park...

So it was a great afternoon in the Florida Everglades..

And this was our awesome guide "Captain Bobby"

Then off to our campsite in Naples, Florida, another warm muggy night in Florida.