{"id":2996,"date":"2016-03-28T14:51:51","date_gmt":"2016-03-28T21:51:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/gregoryng\/?p=2996"},"modified":"2016-04-22T13:23:36","modified_gmt":"2016-04-22T20:23:36","slug":"our-familys-day-at-big-cypress-national-preserve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/gregoryng\/2016\/03\/28\/our-familys-day-at-big-cypress-national-preserve\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Family’s Day at Big Cypress National Preserve"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nMy family and I are spending this Spring Break down in South Florida to visit 3 National Parks: Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park, and Biscayne National Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After a day in Fort Myers watching my beloved Red Sox take it to the Phillies at JetBlue Park<\/a>, we spent the night in Naples and headed out for Big Cypress National Preserve<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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A History of Compromise<\/h1>\n

Big Cypress National Preserve makes up over 729,000 acres of amazing land in South Florida. One of the things I was confused about is why the Big Cypress National Preserve was not part of Everglades National Park. After all, they border each other and share the same diverse wildlife and ecosystem. But it turns out that the Big Cypress National Preserve is really the result of compromise.<\/p>\n

According to the National Park website<\/a>: “Everyone saw the importance of protecting the swamp, but many did not want this region merely added to nearby Everglades National Park that was created in the 1940s. Many felt that national parks were managed in a restrictive manner and access to the swamp would be lost. The resulting compromise created a new land management concept – a national preserve. An area that would be protected, but would also allow for specific activities that were described by Congress within the legislation that created the Preserve.”<\/p>\n

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The Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center<\/h1>\n

We entered the park from the west taking the Tamiami Trail Road. The Welcome Center is only a few miles from the entrance of the preserve. <\/p>\n

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\nThis welcome center is small and narrow but contains a few interesting exhibits.<\/p>\n

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\nThis American Alligator outdoor display shows what an alligator nest looks like and contains a few interactive elements.<\/p>\n

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\nOn the opposite side of the Welcome Center is an interactive display that highlights the difference in water behavior before and after development in the Big Cypress watershed.<\/p>\n

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\nThere was also an interesting video talking about the need for controlled burns within the preserve.<\/p>\n

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The Big Cypress Theatre<\/h1>\n

The theatre at the Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center is air conditioned and large. We were very happy to hear that the video is on-demand not set to a schedule. There’s nothing more frustrating than showing up 10 minutes into a scheduled showing. <\/p>\n

The movie itself is 26 minutes long and focuses on the many different ways people use the lands of the Preserve from conservation, to hunting, to recreation.<\/p>\n

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\nThe other bonus…(or at least I appreciated it) was the chairs in the theatre reclined a bit. Nice touch Big Cypress. Nice touch.<\/p>\n

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Outside the Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center<\/h1>\n

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In the back of the building is a boardwalk that extends into the water offering some scenic views of some of the swampland.<\/p>\n

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\nDisplays along the way cover the most important items.
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Family portrait\/\/Big Cypress National Preserve<\/a><\/p>\n

A photo posted by Gregory Ng (@gregoryng) on