A day trip to Everglades City

Last time we had dinner at the Rod and Gun Club at Everglades City we drove with our friends from Marco Island. We always wanted to fly there for airboat ride and for their fresh seafood. I talked to two neighbors, a Diamond Star driver and a Cherokee driver to go with us. Since neither of them are formation pilot we flew with only one of them down and another back in order to take some aerial photos for them.



We picked a beautiful day with some scattered clouds. This beautiful cloud turned out to be smoke coming from the ground.




Arrived at Everglades City and made mid-field crosswind for right traffic runway 15.


Terminal building.

We had a airboat reservation and called the company to pick us up from the airport. It is a two mile ride to the dock.


I did not realize that there are almost 60 airboats operating in the city.


At the low tide the water is only a few inches deep.


Without an airboat it is impossible to traverse through the mangrove swamps.


Not many land animals live in the mangrove.


They came out to fish crabs during low tide.


Flying over the water (click to see the video):

We asked the airboat captain to drop us off at City Seafood. It saved us 0.6 mile of walking.


Sitting on the 2nd floor we had a beautiful view while enjoying our lunch.


Lunch (I have already finished one soft shell crab)


Airport is 1.6 mile down the road. While walking back to the airport we passed by Rod and Gun's Club. Unfortunately they don't welcome sightseeing tours and we did not go inside to see the old rods and guns in the lobby.


Departing Everglades City Airport. Runway 2,400'x60'.


Heading to Marco Island for an air tour.

Marco Island is a crowded place:


If you have more than a million and half you may purchase a flat in the big condo at the tip.


Fly over our friends' condo on the beach.


Get above scattered layer of clouds at 5,500.


Descend into Orlando area (3,500' to clear the permanent Disney TFR)


EPCOT center


After fueled up at Apopka ($3.25/gal) did some photo shoot with a Cherokee.


Hajo is not scared.


Nice day trip, 420 nm flown, 21 gal of 100LL consumed. Life with an RV in Florida is great!

excellent pics ted. sure giving the vman some competition.

you can rent a bike for $5/day too.

let me know next time you are down this way, ill join up with you.

Great airboat ride! Never been in one on the bucket list. Launching north soon to check Rangeley ice runway and give Ted some competition ...

Turbo,

Saturday 31st is the Palatka Fly In (postponed from 24th due to weather). They offer free lunch. If you have time come up on Friday afternoon. enjoy our Friday evening Big Tree party and fly-by as Gene suggested in another thread. Come to the briefing on Saturday morning and have fun.

Vlad,

Have fun at the ice runway.

I might try to make the 31st. Turbo, you're welcome to stay here as well. We don't have a Big Tree party, but we do have some big trees.

Nice trip

Ted, looks like you had a fun trip. Thanks for the write-up and great pics.

Marco Native just moved to the Creek

Ted, love the photos of Everglades City and Marco. I grew up on Marco when one could afford it. The area where Those "million" dollar condos at the South tip used to be a missile tracking station during the Cuban Missile Crisis (we played in it as kids). Just moved in the Creek last may and trying to make the rounds and meet everyone. Hoping to start a 7 very soon.

Memories...

In 1981, we were vacationing on Sanibel Island, and I rented a 152 at Page Field (RSW did not exist then) and flew my wife and myself down to Everglades City to take an Everglades tour from the ranger station there. Runway was shorter, trees were at the NW end, no taxiway, and no buildings to speak of. After hiking a path through no more that 50' of trees and damp ground, and being assaulted by literally visible clouds of mosquitos, we found that there were no tours that day, so got re-assaulted going back to the runway. It was very hot, no wind, and when I started taxiing the full length of the runway to 15, my wife, who had picked up enough flying knowledge to know that one took off into the wind, asked why I was taxiing to the other end, since there was no wind. Told her to just watch, you will soon figure it out. We might have been 20 or 25 feet high when we cleared the other end of the runway, departing over the water instead of the trees.