Monday – November 16, 2015
Everglades National Park
Homestead, Florida
We spent a delightful weekend with two of my cousins (brother and sister) that live in the Kissimmee and St. Cloud, Florida area. It’s been about 20 years that we had seen one another. It was so nice to reunite after all those years.
One of my cousins shared pictures of our families dating back to the early 1900’s. She also had a handwritten notebook of a chronological log that one of our relative’s had recorded of our family history dating back to the early 1900’s.
On Sunday our families met for dinner at The Catfish Place in St. Cloud for dinner. This restaurant definitely lives up to its reputation for serving up the very best catfish in the area. Great food, great company, great way to end our visit until the next time we get together.
We departed Kissimmee, Florida via the southbound Florida Turnpike. After traveling for about thirty minutes, we were shocked when an idiot driver passed us on the shoulder at a high rate of speed.
Our destination today is one of our favorite Florida locations: Everglades National Park. There are two campgrounds there: Long Pine Key and Flamingo. Long Pine Key is dry camping only and is located six miles from the entrance. Flamingo has dry camping and electric campsites and is located forty miles from the entrance. We prefer Long Pine Key. Its campsites offer more privacy and it is closer to shopping in Homestead, Florida.
Flamingo is open all year (restroom facilities are closed April through October) and Long Pine Key is open November through April. Long Pine Key was closed when we arrived. It was scheduled to open on Tuesday, 11/17/15. We proceeded to Flamingo and secured a campsite with an electric hookup. The Flamingo campground is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Gulf of Mexico on the west.
There are five camping areas within the Flamingo campground:
Walk-In Section:
65 campsites. Tent camping only allowed. Located in an expansive, treeless
area adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. No hookups. Water spigot at
restroom facility with flush toilets.
Loop A:
55 campsites. Campsites for tents and small recreational vehicles. Some
shaded campsites. No hookups. Water spigots available at two restroom facilities
with flush toilets and solar heated showers. One dump station.
Loop B:
58 campsites. Campsites for tents and small recreational vehicles. Some shaded
campsites. No hookups. Water spigots available at two restroom facilities with
flush toilets. One restroom facility has solar heated showers.
Loop C:
56 campsites. Campsites for tents and small recreational vehicles. Some
shaded campsites. No hookups. Water spigot available at restroom facility with
flush toilets.
Loop T:
65 campsites. Camping restricted to recreational vehicles only. Campsites 1
through 41 have electric hookups. Campsites 42 through 65, no hookups. Water
spigots available at two restroom facilities with flush toilets. One restroom
facility has solar heated showers. One dump station.
This was our first time visiting Everglades National Park in November and we were surprised to see how few campers were visiting the area at this time of the year. In our previous visits in February 2012 and 2013 camping at Flamingo campsites with electric hookups were by reservation only, AND there were no mosquitoes! During this visit no reservations were required.
During our stay here through Saturday, 11/21/15, the weather forecast shows sunny, warm and humid days will prevail, with temperatures in the mid-eighties and matching humidity.
Tomorrow another adventure begins.
Travel Details:
Departed: Kissimmee, Florida
Departure Time: 10:35 A.M.
Arrived: Everglades National Park - Homestead, Florida
Arrival Time: 4:30 P.M.
Campground: Flamingo
Type: National Park
GPS Coordinates: Latitude: N25.13783 Longitude: W080.94160
Camping Fee: $15.00 (with Golden Age Pass)
Campsite: 27
Campsite Hookups: Electric
Campground Amenities: Water Spigots, Flush Toilets, Showers, Dump Stations
Cellular Service: Verizon – No Service
Internet Service: No Service
Total miles traveled today: 294
Route Traveled:
South on Florida Turnpike
South on U.S. Highway 1
West on Florida Highway 9336 to Everglades National Park
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