Seminole Day

Today was our “Native Culture” day. We had a wonderful visit to the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum of Seminole history and culture. This doesn’t seem like cattle country, but that is a major enterprise for the Seminoles as well as an important part of their history.

Next was a swamp buggy tour at Billie Swamp Safari. Not solely native species on view, but lots of fun. We couldn’t believe the size of the ostriches or the placidness of the water buffalo. No panther sightings on this trip - we were mighty lucky last year to see one on this same tour. After our late lunch of gator bites and frog legs, we took a look at the caged-animal display, where we were treated to an intimate view of gopher -tortoise romance. How on earth do they do that??

The sun came out this afternoon and it felt much more like Florida weather. We’d thought of going to the beach, but it had cooled enough by the time we got home that we decided to walk the Fakahatchee boardwalk instead. It was a quiet time to visit. We heard several great-horned owls calling and saw a bald eagle sitting on a 19-year-old nest. By the time we got back to the car, it was nearly dark and the moon above the palms was beautiful.