No. 21

Everglades National Park: Cleo contemplates the odds of alligator attack at dusk (50/50) on this Everglades freshwater inlet. On this day, I actually see manatees instead of alligators, a nice change of pace while traveling through the largest subtropical wilderness in the US. The best camping is accessible only by kayak or canoe, at campsites with names like Graveyard Creek, Lard Can and Willy Willy (?). The most alluring sites are on wide, white sandy beaches. The most exotic are on covered wooden platforms that hover above the water in a kind of head-clearing solitude that's impossible to find anywhere else in mainland Florida. Skipped both on this stop in favor of showers and daily kayak excursions from the Collier-Seminole campground, virtually empty on a warm December Tuesday. {S}