Dates of Stay: Five days in early January, 2017

In Big Cypress Natural Preserve, adjacent to the Everglades, is this little gem of a park run by the National Park Sevice. Having just spent a month in the Florida Keys, I was very pleased with the $30 per night rate ($15 if you are a senior).

On check in, the park ranger advised not step on any alligators. I laughed. He wasn’t kidding. He suggested walking with a flashlight at night, keeping Pinkie and Rocket away from the water’s edge, lest they become a Tootsie Roll and Butterfinger, respectively, for a ‘gator.

Oh, yeah, there can be bears, too. And panthers.

This is not just wilderness; it’s the swamp. Wi-Fi is nonexistent, it gets exceptionally dark at night, and there is a dump station – no separate sewer hook ups.

From Midway we explored Everglades City, took an airboat ride at Wooten’s, visited the Clyde Butcher Art Gallery, and saw the country’s smallest post office in Ochopee.