Today we’ll take a ride through the northern part of the protected area of Big Cypress in northwest Broward County, from Interstate 75, until getting into the Hendry County. We will be going through the Snake Road / County Road 833, located in the heart of the Miccosukee reservation, to penetrate in the territory of their direct ancestors, the Seminole tribe of Florida. The landscape will be decorated with cattle continually as we move among the countless ranches that are on both sides of the winding road. In the adjacent canals we will hear the characteristic snoring emitted by alligators, which inhabit the area in large quantities. In total, we’re talking about 44 miles back and forth, among nature and the history of the peninsula.
Image courtesy of Donna S at Flickr.com
First, we’ll start from the beginning of the Snake Rd / Government Rd which has its origin just north of I-75 / Alligator Alley at mile 49, an exit from Big Cypress. This paved street is the CR 833 and it will lead us through a 20 feet wide road with no guardrail and several continuous curves that give it the appearance of a snake. Fortunately, the traffic is not very fluid even though both Indian reservations receive large numbers of visitors every year. The maximum speed is 45 mph although according to the Department of Transportation, the road does not comply with security measures to move so fast. Every year, unfortunate accidents occur which have cost some lives and as we ride our bike it will be essential for us to be always alert. The first section is within the Miccosukee Indian Reservation. This is, with the Krome Avenue area, where the casino is, and the settlement of the Tamiami Trail between Miami Dade and Collier counties, the third and largest portion of land of this tribe that broke away from the Seminoles in the 1950s. In total, they amount to nearly 130 square miles.
Going north, we will be crossing grassy fields with cows and horses among canals, marshes and ponds with lots of alligators. This section of the Big Cypress National Preserve houses among its inhabitants almost all exponents of the Floridian flora and fauna. Around the vast forests of cypress swamps and elsewhere, apart from the fearsome alligators, black bears and Florida panthers have their ideal habitat here. Countless species of endemic orchids and many birds are struggling each day to reclaim the space that for years was taken away from them by man.
Going north, we will be crossing grassy fields with cows and horses among canals, marshes and ponds with lots of alligators. This section of the Big Cypress National Preserve houses among its inhabitants almost all exponents of the Floridian flora and fauna. Around the vast forests of cypress swamps and elsewhere, apart from the fearsome alligators, black bears and Florida panthers have their ideal habitat here. Countless species of endemic orchids and many birds are struggling each day to reclaim the space that for years was taken away from them by man.
Image courtesy of Timothy Wildey at Flickr.com
Four and a half miles since we left the I-75 behind, we will see on our right large storage tanks and the end of a pipeline that leads crude from the site where it is extracted in the heart of the nature reserve, along the Tamiami Trail. It is the Raccoon Point oil field.
Six miles and a half since we started our journey, we will enter the reservation of the Seminole tribe of Florida. After the last turn left at the Snake Rd, our road will turn west and we’ll arrive in Hendry County. Currently we will have done about ten miles and a third of the way.
The Seminole Tribe of Indians of Florida is a nation of Native Americans originated in the seventeenth century in the state of Florida, although the largest bloc currently lives in Oklahoma.
There is currently a population of 18,000 Seminoles, some of whom speak the languages Mikasuki and others Muskogee or Creek. The main religions they profess are Protestantism and Catholicism, highly syncretized with traditional beliefs.
Six miles and a half since we started our journey, we will enter the reservation of the Seminole tribe of Florida. After the last turn left at the Snake Rd, our road will turn west and we’ll arrive in Hendry County. Currently we will have done about ten miles and a third of the way.
The Seminole Tribe of Indians of Florida is a nation of Native Americans originated in the seventeenth century in the state of Florida, although the largest bloc currently lives in Oklahoma.
There is currently a population of 18,000 Seminoles, some of whom speak the languages Mikasuki and others Muskogee or Creek. The main religions they profess are Protestantism and Catholicism, highly syncretized with traditional beliefs.
Image courtesy of Kevin Bowman at Flickr.com
Returning to the route, we’ll head west on the County Road 833 which will then be named Goddens Strand or Government Road, to then become the Josie Billie Rd. For six more miles, we'll be going through a few plantations, large parcels, several craft shops and homes with traditional mailboxes. If we followed the canal towards the south, we would find a small, isolated community called Looneyville that during the 1980s and later, in the 1990s, was added to the protected area.
Continuing our journey, we arrive at the government house of the reservation. Right in front is the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Indian Museum (translated as "place of learning") and West Boundary Road, through which we’ll go left. Then, we will be surrounded by huge fields with characteristic Hammocks or tree islands scattered across the horizon. Here we’ll find the Big Cypress Cemetery. In just three miles we will have gotten to the Gator Tail Trail, which is the entrance to the Billie Swamp Safari, one of the greatest tourist attractions of the site, where we can enjoy shows like wrestling with alligators. If we keep going for about 850 yards to the right, we will have completed the first 22 miles of our trip. Finally, we must return again to the I-75.
Continuing our journey, we arrive at the government house of the reservation. Right in front is the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Indian Museum (translated as "place of learning") and West Boundary Road, through which we’ll go left. Then, we will be surrounded by huge fields with characteristic Hammocks or tree islands scattered across the horizon. Here we’ll find the Big Cypress Cemetery. In just three miles we will have gotten to the Gator Tail Trail, which is the entrance to the Billie Swamp Safari, one of the greatest tourist attractions of the site, where we can enjoy shows like wrestling with alligators. If we keep going for about 850 yards to the right, we will have completed the first 22 miles of our trip. Finally, we must return again to the I-75.