This January, I had the pleasure of attending the Saturday afternoon/evening portion of Rainer & Noel's 7th Annual Excellent Camping Adventure. Although we did not stay the night, we spent a good deal of time at the camp site and enjoyed the experience so much that we'll be sure to bring our tent setups next year. Rainer Schael is a Board Member of the South Florida National Parks Trust and along with his wife, Noel, they put on this fun-filled event to support Everglades National Park's CAMP program, "a ranger-led program that introduces South Florida families to camping and the Everglades." If that's not a good cause, I don't know what is.
Preserving our National Parks, and the Everglades in particular, is a cause near and dear to my heart, so not only was I happy to support this event, I was excited to get out there and spend some time in one of my favorite places in South Florida (and anywhere!). Any chance I get to hit the Everglades, I'm on it (and yes, I am an annual pass holder, of course).
This annual event is scheduled to span an entire weekend, with participants invited to arrive whenever works for them and take part in whichever activities they would like to take part in. Planned events included a Saturday morning ranger-led hike of the popular and wildlife-dense Anhinga trail, various National Park Service programs throughout the day, an elaborate camp dinner Saturday night (including a shrimp boil and fancy cappuccinos for the adults!) camp breakfast Sunday morning, ranger talks for the kids, arts and crafts and more. Beyond the planned programs and events, participants make this event their own with giant bubble wands, fire juggling, kite flying, bike riding and more. There were over 200 participants, mostly friendly families with campsites spread over the campground, near enough to make this one big event, but spread out enough to give everyone space to breath and play. The heart of the campsite was Rainer and Noel's RV situated next to the BBQ area. In front of the RV, a few long wooden tables held various activities throughout the day, including painting flower pots and canvases, and a ranger-led talk complete with animal bones and ending with a pledge from all the kids to take care of their national parks (heartwarming!).
We arrived Saturday afternoon after the always-pleasant drive through the Redlands and into the heart of the southern Everglades. We stopped at the Flamingo Visitor Center, a cool old-Florida building of bright pink and limestone overlooking the water. Most of the building is on the second floor, and we spent a bit of time exploring the neat little museum and dioramas featuring lessons about local history, flora and fauna, and a bit of time looking out over the water before heading the rest of the way to the campground. We found some interesting bits of history about the local inhabitants who were forcibly removed after a struggle with the Park Service to clear the land for eventual National Park use. Not a pretty picture, but honest, and interesting.
We pulled up to the campground to find hundreds of happy family members with camp setups ranging from simple to elaborate. A few dozen kids and a few adults were happily painting flower pots and canvases at the long wooden tables and after a bit of chat with Rainer and Noel and grabbing our souvenir tshirts, we joined them and I made a bit of a mess, but had a lot of fun, with my attempt at painting a tree.
We had fun, met a lot of nice people, helped support a great cause, ate delicious food and got to enjoy a bit of our beautiful Florida Everglades, and for all that, we are grateful. We will most definitely be back next year, this time with our camp setup and ready to enjoy more of the weekend's activities.
Additional note: late January is a nice time to visit the Everglades- the weather is cool, the mosquitoes are not out in full force and it's not overly rainy.
Thanks for reading, and my apologies for the not great quality photos. The light was flat, kind of dark and gray, and there was a lot of movement. Working on better
-JB
Preserving our National Parks, and the Everglades in particular, is a cause near and dear to my heart, so not only was I happy to support this event, I was excited to get out there and spend some time in one of my favorite places in South Florida (and anywhere!). Any chance I get to hit the Everglades, I'm on it (and yes, I am an annual pass holder, of course).
This annual event is scheduled to span an entire weekend, with participants invited to arrive whenever works for them and take part in whichever activities they would like to take part in. Planned events included a Saturday morning ranger-led hike of the popular and wildlife-dense Anhinga trail, various National Park Service programs throughout the day, an elaborate camp dinner Saturday night (including a shrimp boil and fancy cappuccinos for the adults!) camp breakfast Sunday morning, ranger talks for the kids, arts and crafts and more. Beyond the planned programs and events, participants make this event their own with giant bubble wands, fire juggling, kite flying, bike riding and more. There were over 200 participants, mostly friendly families with campsites spread over the campground, near enough to make this one big event, but spread out enough to give everyone space to breath and play. The heart of the campsite was Rainer and Noel's RV situated next to the BBQ area. In front of the RV, a few long wooden tables held various activities throughout the day, including painting flower pots and canvases, and a ranger-led talk complete with animal bones and ending with a pledge from all the kids to take care of their national parks (heartwarming!).
We arrived Saturday afternoon after the always-pleasant drive through the Redlands and into the heart of the southern Everglades. We stopped at the Flamingo Visitor Center, a cool old-Florida building of bright pink and limestone overlooking the water. Most of the building is on the second floor, and we spent a bit of time exploring the neat little museum and dioramas featuring lessons about local history, flora and fauna, and a bit of time looking out over the water before heading the rest of the way to the campground. We found some interesting bits of history about the local inhabitants who were forcibly removed after a struggle with the Park Service to clear the land for eventual National Park use. Not a pretty picture, but honest, and interesting.
After a bit of arts and crafting, we spent some time mingling with the easy-going families who attend this event, many of them long time attendees, and a few first or second timers. We walked the campground and admired the sweet setups, including Rainer and Noel's restored VW van (a few weeks later the van won an award at Volksblast Miami for its category), a total hit with all the guests.
As dusk settled in, attendees started bringing out fun games and toys. Walking around, we stumbled across kids laughing in delight at giant bubble wands, and trying their hand at it, and a guy juggling fire. Lots of kids riding their bikes and playing games as well. Everyone was having a fun, relaxed time. With this many attendees, this event could easily have devolved into chaos, but everything was orderly, relaxed and had a natural flow.
Prepping some mini fires and admiring the VW from afar.
Soon enough, it was time for camp dinner. A setup with more than enough food to feed a few hundred hungry people, the grillers had their work cut out for them. Burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, a shrimp boil, potato salad, chips, snacks, sodas and various beverages were neatly organized and a line formed as soon as everyone realized that food was happening. There was no dinner bell, no announcement (that I heard, anyway); I don't know how everyone knew, maybe the smoke, the smells, the milling around the food area, but everyone KNEW and lined up accordingly.
This kid was having a ball (or two... or three) while the rest of us lined up for food.
Dinner was delicious and everyone was happily chowing down as night set in and fires started burning. The darkness was quickly illuminated by camp fires from various locations, and people started lining up for their s'mores supplies, glow bracelets and necklaces and cappuccino for the adults. Chairs appeared everywhere and small groups clustered around fires roasting their s'mores, chatting and continuing the good times.
We had fun, met a lot of nice people, helped support a great cause, ate delicious food and got to enjoy a bit of our beautiful Florida Everglades, and for all that, we are grateful. We will most definitely be back next year, this time with our camp setup and ready to enjoy more of the weekend's activities.
Additional note: late January is a nice time to visit the Everglades- the weather is cool, the mosquitoes are not out in full force and it's not overly rainy.
Thanks for reading, and my apologies for the not great quality photos. The light was flat, kind of dark and gray, and there was a lot of movement. Working on better
-JB