Night in the everglades by JOEY DEAN
I’m sitting in my tent with two owls howling away in the tree directly above me.
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Today I found out I will probably be losing my job in 2 months. Jobs and I just don’t get along. When I left work at 11, I found myself craving that feeling I get when I’m out in the middle of nowhere, on a big adventure. Instead of sitting in pity about this job, I packed my gear and got in my truck, headed for the everglades. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a monk. I was angry as hell this morning when I first heard the news, but when I got through that initial wave of anger and took a second to zoom out, I remembered that 6 months ago I didn’t even know this job existed so is it really the end of my world?
Driving the 3 hours it takes to get there, I felt myself going back and forth on whether I should even be going. Im exhausted. I have to work monday. I didnt prepare enough. All these excuses were swirling around until I threw on some King Gizzard and turned on cruise control. I was spending the night in the everglades for the first time in my life, and nothing else mattered.
If you’ve never driven on US 41 across the Everglades, it’s pretty surreal. You don’t see so much other than mangrove islands among the river of grass at first, but its vastness really trips you out. It’s just miles upon miles of endless land that will remain undeveloped with a 2 lane highway cutting through. So special. Halfway to Miami, things start to shift when you pass the Welcome to Big Cypress National Preserve sign. Suddenly I’m in an entirely different world, the most beautiful swamp I’ve ever seen.
I had to open my windows the urge to just smell those cypress trees was taking over. The swamp may give you an impression of smelly, spooky, where monsters live. It couldn’t be further from the truth. The level of beauty was just indescribable. Suddenly all those worries from earlier faded and not because I was playing music over them.
As I got closer still to my destination, Mitchell Landing campground (just totally nuts how it looks on the map), I began driving past numerous signs that read “Indian Village” followed by fences that contained houses and huts with thatched roofs. I couldn’t help but wonder what its like on the other side of that fence. But as I passed them, I realized that if I were an Indigenous American whose entire ancestry suffered such egregious crimes, I would probably want my privacy too.
The moment I pulled into the campground, I just knew I had made the right choice in coming. Cypress trees lined the gravel road that led to the site, and I was met with a quirky couple of camp caretakers that brought the true positive light to the term “Florida Man”. Right as I stepped out of my truck, I began to hear the call of the barred owl. Quite the foreshadowing of how my trip would go.
Going to sleep outside brings me a sense of peace that washes over my body like taking a dip into a stream of serenity. I feel my heart rate slowing and get a warm dose of goosebumps that reminds of my mushroom days. The owls seemed to have moved on for the night and I’m gonna call it.
How lucky am I. The owls chose the tree right above my tent to serenade the campground and remind us that we are visitors to their home. Below are some shots I got the following morning before truckin’ back home.
Catch me over on Instagram if you’d like to see more photos from my adventures – Joey