Good bye Flamingo

There are many elements that go into making a campground a favorite, nice large sites, part sun part shade, access to water is a great plus and proximity to trails or things to do are all elements we like. Also important for us, Internet, TV and phone. While Flamingo has many of these elements, it is missing the Internet, TV and because of the large number of mosquitos, the trails and outside activity are limited. So this is not on the short list of places we will return to in the future. These pictures are from our last two days at Flamingo when the wind helped out with the bugs.

The first park as you enter the Everglades National Park is Long Pine And it's much better in our opinion. While there is no electric at the sites it is a beautiful park with good services, access to activities and not so remote. Best of all, fewer mosquitos.

In both parks there is the potential for another pest. Draped in black feathers, crows have been know to open hikers backpacks, remove their keys and fly off with the goods. And when the Rangers ask you to keep all food items indoors, these culprits along with the vultures are the reason why. We watched a raid on one tent sites that stripped the missing campers of many food items within minutes. At the Anhinga Trail head you will find blue tarps with bungee cords to place on your vehicle to keep the vultures from removing your windshield wipers and rubber stripping.