First stop was at the Post Office at Ochoppe, the smallest Postal Office in the nation.
Next stop Everglades City and the Store Museum. This building was the Post Office, General store, and Indian trade store for the Island of Chokoloskee.
After the museum it was getting time to get something to eat, and I wanted to find just the right spot. Time to hit the road again, and start hitting some of the back roads off of the Tamiami Trail. First stop Burns Lake to eat some lunch and get the rest of the trip figured out.
A quick stop at one of the Big Cypress National Park visitor centers, and off to the Loop Trail.
The Loop Road that begins at the Monroe Station (if you're heading east, or at the 40 mile bend if heading west) is definitely a place to bring your camera fully charged, and extra batteries, and memory cards. Also the speed limit posted does it no justice if you really want to enjoy the drive this is a place where crawling speed is fast enough.
Towards the last few miles of Loop Road there was this awesome looking old time gas station that looked just the same way they did when I was a kid, except that most of it was up kept, except for the pumps. It was just a wonderful throwback to my childhood.
At the end of the day, going home is that much sweeter knowing that I live in such a wonderful place so full of life, worth protecting for future generations to enjoy. If you ever have a day I highly recommend driving this route and remember bring your camera fully charged, and the largest memory card you can afford. I could not fit all the pictures in this blog, but they will be available on my Picasa web album, if you really want to see the over 100 pics, shoot me a line, I'll send you the link.
For now get out there and explore, be safe!!
