I braked and fumbled for my camera. But as I opened the car door, the ’gator came to life and hurled himself into the swamp.
Images: The Florida you haven’t seen
Images: Dozen distinctive U.S. destinations
Alligators in the road are one of the facts of life driving the Loop Rd., in Big Cypress National Preserve, the northern section of the Florida Everglades. About an hour west of glitzy Miami and an hour east of tony Naples, it couldn’t be more different. It’s one of the last reminders of old-time Florida.
The 42 km of crushed gravel are worth a couple of hours of any visitor’s time. It’s called the Loop because it loops down from U.S. Hwy. 41 — the Tamiami Trail, once the only road between Tampa and Miami — goes south for a while, then turns east to rejoin 41 just east of the hamlet of Pinecrest.
I missed the picture of my first alligator but later spotted another just off the road, basking in the sun, about half of him below the water.
I switched the camera to telephoto, holding back because I knew the story of the late Clara McKay who ran a beer and bait store nearby. She knew the dangers but one day let her guard down. She was dipping water for her cats when an alligator bit off her right arm.
There are rumours of nefarious deeds being done along the Loop: Moonshine, marijuana growing and ’gator poaching are mentioned, It wouldn’t surprise me, as this is far from “civilized” Florida.
Nobody today knows Big Cypress better than photographer Lucky Cole, who lives near the east end of the Loop. He loves it when people drop in to look at his photographs of sunsets, sunrises, animals, birds, cypress trees and lily pads.
There’s a headstone opposite his gate. “Who’s in the grave?” I ask.
“That was a reporter from Canada who came around asking too many questions,” he deadpans. (In fact there’s nothing in the grave. Lucky is quite a kidder.)
Apart from his scenic photography, Cole, 66, specializes in pictures of young women, in various stages of undress. Nothing smutty; all, to my practiced eye, were artistic. His 1.25-hectare lot is a huge open-air studio. He photographs the women in an outdoor shower, in a tin bath, on a ladder, beside the wind chimes ... And, he says, he gets plenty of business.
“I don’t look for models, they pay me to photograph them. Some want pictures for a professional portfolio, but many just want something to look back on years from now, to say, ‘Look, that’s what I was.’ ”
Continuing along the Loop, “Panther crossing” signs remind me the Florida panther is the rarest large animal in North America so I don’t expect to see any. Alligators are another matter. You find them everywhere. Bears have been spotted, too, and deer and wild hogs draw hunters.
My last stop is Monroe Station, at the western end of the Loop. The community consists of one two-storey clapboard building, now deserted. A local tells me the building was once a convenience store and restaurant, and known as “the redneck capital of south Florida.” The National Park Service has taken it over with plans to establish a museum there.
If you go
For more information, see evergladesonline.com. Lucky Cole’s Exotic Beauty studio (phase.com/luckycole) is 11.5 km from the eastern junction of the Loop Rd. and Hwy. 41. General tourist information on Florida is available at visitflorida.com.
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