Gumbo was visiting Everglades National Park in Florida. Specifically, he was at the Observation Tower in the Shark Valley region of the park. Congratulations to PortMoresby for accurately nailing this location (again!)
Shark Valley represents just a small part of Everglades National Park, a truly expansive wilderness. The Shark River is so broad and the valley so flat (less than a meter change in elevation), it’s hard to even appreciate you’re in a valley. It seems just a typical part of the Everglades’ “River of Grass” ecosystem and is rich in bird and other wildlife, like alligators.
The main attraction at Shark Valley is a great flat paved one lane road/trail that loops into the Everglades for a round trip of 15 miles (24 km) long. The trail’s midpoint is the observation tower featured in the highlighted photo which was opened to the public in 1966. You can gradually walk up to the tower’s observation deck via a long ramp (wheelchair accessible), to a height of about 14 m (45 ft) for an expansive unobstructed view of the River of Grass. You can reach the tower by hiking, riding a bike, or leisurely enjoying a 2 hour guided tram tour (Shark Valley Tram Tour)
You can read and see more about TravelGumbo’s visit to Shark Valley on this blog post.
Love the sky in your shots!
Florida is a great state with a lot of surprises,history and nature.
i cant wait to go to Everglades National Park, one area
i’ve missed
I think I like the last landscape best of all, the sense of space and the fact that it’s not at all what I expect when I hear “Everglades”. Gumbo’s travels, ever-enlightening.
By last landscape, I presume you mean the view of the alligator crawling away?