I’ve always loved Cypress trees. I think they have beautiful shapes, and I love the texture and monotone bark. Since they are found in landscapes dominated by water, it’s not often that you get to walk amongst them, but the Pa-Hay-Okee trail has a a boardwalk that elevates into the trees to give you a rare glimpse of these beauties up close and personal.
Once you hang out in the upper viewing platform for a while you can turn your attention to the “River of Grass” that stretches as far as the eye can see. This is the ecosystem that Everglades is most known for – the flooded grasslands that host the most iconic species like the alligator, crocodile, and plethora of wading birds.
There were small stands of dwarf bald cypress in this particular area of the park, springing up in secluded pockets. They make excellent ‘lookout’ spots for birds of prey, but at the time of our visit, there were none to be seen.
We did befriend an ‘attempted murder’* of crows back at the car. I always carry snacks in my hiking pack, and I had a pouch of hand-made trail mix that was a healthy crow snack because it contained UNSALTED (please don’t feed birdies salt) peanuts, so we tossed them a few before departing.
*Three or more crows is called a murder; so two crows is attempted murder
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