12 May - Fruit Stand, ValuJet Flt 592 Crash Site Memorial, Shark Valley Tram Tour

 

This morning we drove around the agricultural area surrounding the campground here in SW Miami area.  We found a vegetable market nearby and bought a few things including tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon; a bag of limes, avocados, a mango and a couple mamoncillo's (Spanish Limes)

Doreen cut up the watermelon and it is delicious, as are the tomatoes.  The cukes are sliced and in vinegar.  We will try the mango and the Spanish limes tomorrow.  The avocado's are destined to become guacamole!

We got back and had some lunch then packed up for a trip back west on US 41 towards Naples.  25 miles from the campground we arrived at the ValuJet Flt 592 Crash Site Memorial.  Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of the fateful flight and it was noted on the nightly news down here last night. On 11 May 1996 ValuJet Flt 592, a DC-9 aircraft took off from Miami International Airport headed for Atlanta and after just 10 minutes, crashed into the Everglades killing all 110 soles aboard.  Investigation revealed ValuJet's maintenance contractor had loaded some expired exothermic oxygen generators in the cargo hold and they caught fire.  Apparently the fire was so intense it burned through the floor into the passenger compartment.  There was a memorial created a few miles from the crash site near US 41, consisting of a granite plaque with the 110 victim's names and 110 concrete pillars placed in the shape of an arrow pointing towards the crash site.  

110 concrete pillars varying in height

The materials and labor were donated for this.

Fresh flowers from yesterday's 25th anniversary

After viewing the memorial and paying our respects to those who lost their lives on that flight, we headed about five miles further down US 41 to the Shark Valley Visitor Center.

Shark Valley is a National Parks Service facility on the Everglades.  The Visitor Center contains educational information about the Everglades and the critters common to the area.  Bobcat Boardwalk is a 1/2 mile walk across the sawgrass marsh and bayhead.  There is also a 15 mile Tram Trail which you can do on foot or bicycle (available for rent) or you can ride a guided and narrated motorized tram, as we did.  About half way down this loop you disembark the tram and walk a short distance to a huge concrete observation tower.

We arrived and checked-in with the desk for our tram seats.  We had about a 30 minute wait until our tram departed, so we walked around and read the various displays, and we watched the video they were playing which describes the Everglades eco-system.  Very interesting.  

You guess what this is, then open the lid to read the info

Yep, Gator poop!!

Soon it was time to board our tram.  They are still using precautions in that you can only sit with those you arrived with, i.e. if you are by yourself, you have a whole row by yourself.  So Doreen and I sat together and there was no one directly in front of us or directly behind us.

On the tram we saw several alligators, various species of birds including Blue Heron, turtles, etc.  

a female turtle laying eggs

Blue Heron

The head of a submerged gator.

At the half way point the tram let us off to walk to the observation tower.  The view from there was incredible.  It was really hot and humid out and the tram was open-air.

The observation tower from a distance

The spiral staircase was closed

This is from the observation tower looking north.  The road straight ahead is the road that we will take when we depart the tower.  On the right upper you can see the road we traveled to get here.

One of the bicyclist riding the 15 mile loop.  The tour guide calls them "meals on wheels" for the alligators !!

Doreen's gator Christmas ornament from the gift shop!

At the conclusion of the two hour tram ride we were fried and sweaty.  It had started raining a few minutes before we got back to the visitor center, so we were partially soaked too.  It was a great tour and we are glad we took the tram.

Tomorrow we will visit one of the lighthouses in the area.