A group of the senior missionaries went on a p-day excursion to Shark Valley Everglade National Park which is the 3rd largest National Park in the lower 48 states. It was a very interesting and informative trip with a lot of wonderful missionaries. We went on a two hour tram ride with an excellent driver and tour guide. They knew almost every inch of the land we went though and where to find many of the alligators and birds.

    

      

Along the way we made a stop in a bog area where there seemed to be a bog so he could show us periphyton, a basic building of the everglades. He said he was going out into the boggy looking area and bring some back. He asked if anyone wanted to go along. I thought he was kidding but asked if he meant it and he said yes. So I took off my shoes and socks and rolled up my pants and went with him. He did let me have his staff to help me not slip. 

The first part was hard because there were lots of small rocks that were not nice to my bare feet. However once we got into the boggy area it felt good between my toes. The spongy periphyton did not smell bad and it was interesting to look at all the small things that were mixed up in it. To think that this was a major part of the ecosystem of the huge  everglade system.

“Periphyton is the basic building block of marl, a calcitic mud. In areas with hydroperiods of longer than nine months, peat builds up over hundreds or thousands of years due to many generations of decaying plant matter. Peat and marl are considered nutrient-poor soils that foster the growth of specialized vegetation depending on the length of the regional hydroperiod.” Later I asked him how many times tourists took him up on his offer to go out with him and he said not very often.

     

The first two pictures are Ahingas – the male – dark black with green on beak – is in the middle and the female – light brown – on the right. The birds spread their wings to regulate their body heat. The wood stork on the right is quite large and striking with its white body and gray head.

   

After the tour we bought some books on birds of Southern Florida and then all of us had lunch under the trees while sitting on logs. It was kind of like roughing it but it was also fun. The lady sitting in the chair in the last picture was sitting quietly reading when we invaded her space. When elder Steimle gave her a pass along card with the temple on it, we found out that she had been to Salt Lake one time and as she drove into the city from the airport she got a speeding ticket that cost her $190 – she doubted if she would go back again.

After lunch we loaded up the van and headed back to the office. However not before a stop along the way to solve a problem. Before we left the mission office this morning Elder Beagley got a call from a companionship saying that they had left their gas card in a car that Elder Evans exchanged with them last weekend. When I heard that they were in the Hollywood zone, I suggested that we since we would not be too far from them when we were coming home we meet them and let them have my gas card which I do not use very often. So sister Beagley called them as we were leaving the park and set up a meeting at one of the chapels. Everything went well and the elders now have a gas card so they can keep working.

I tried to sleep on the way home and did manage to get a few winks but not as much as I would have liked. I made up for it after we got back to the apartment as did Mary. It was a good p-day outing and it was nice to be with some of the other couples and to share an adventure. I would certainly suggest that anyone visiting Southern Florida go see this National Park and take the tour. It was well worth the money.