Thursday, May 1, 2014

Out in the Wild: Big Cypress National Preserve

Two Saturdays ago, Ma, Daddy-dog and I, along with a few other friends, went on an adventure to the Big Cypress National Preserve.  A friend owns a cabin out there and we were going to help repair it.


Established in 1974, Big Cypress National Preserve is about 45 miles west of Miami, Florida.  It is a 720,000+ acre preserve that borders the wet freshwater prairies of Everglades National Park and other federally protected cypress lands.  Within the preserve is the Big Cypress Swamp which flows water into the Everglades.


Although there are access points off the main highway to sightseeing and camping spots within Big Cypress, our friend's cabin is in the backcountry so we just drive on a dirt path through the wilderness to get there.


Since we headed there early in the morning, we got to see some of the wildlife that you would not normally see later in the day.  On the drive in we saw several white-tail deer and fawns, egrets and herons, and of course, alligators.  Big Cypress is also home to river otters, bobcats, the Florida Black Bear and the Florida Panther...none of which we saw on this trip.  We have seen a Florida Black Bear cub on a prior visit though!


The cabin is on several privately-owned acres and  it has electricity and running water but it's not turned on all the time since it is just a weekend cabin.  Even for a day trip like this one, we had to pack a lot of supplies and of course, tools to get the repair work done.  I was in charge of guarding the tools and equipment.


It was a long day but a lot of work got done.  I was quite exhausted from all the project  management so I spent most of the afternoon like this:


Do you go on adventures out in the wild?  
What supplies do you bring?


During the month of May, I will be reviewing some of my new outdoor gear - like that new hammock bed in the photos above!  If you are an adventure dog like me, be sure to look for my upcoming Outdoor Gear posts!



29 comments:

  1. what a totally awesome place....we can imagine exploring for hours and hours. Love your hammock bed.....Mom looked at those recently but we would never use one......we have beds scattered throughout our house but we like the cold floor the best.

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  2. You have some lucky friends there, and you are lucky to get to visit them! The hammock bed is really cool. It would save Toby from resting on gravel or making a leaf bed at the campsites. (He has his nice bed inside the tent.) I hope you see a Florida puma someday, they are magnificent.

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  3. Great work there and lucky you were there to snoopaw-vise Oz. Looks like a lovely place to spend a weekend. Have a tremendous Thursday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  4. AnonymousMay 01, 2014

    Is that a real bear? WOW! What a fabulous place! I never slept in a cabin and I never saw a bear. Oz, you must be the luckiest pup of the world! Have a super May Day!

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  5. Mom has been to the area but not to the preserve. It's beautiful
    Lily & Edward

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  6. I'm sure all the humans were super relieved that their tools were so safe under YOUR snoopervision!

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  7. What a beautiful place. Looks like you did a great job supervising.

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  8. OZ.... that is just FABULOUS.... we love the pictures of YOU and of all the foliage and stuffs... WOW that is a WONDERFUL COT... Where did you get that gem???
    THANK YOU FUR TAKING US ON THIS ADVENTURE... it is OUTSTANDING...

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  9. Such a beautiful place to visit! we are having a beautiful day here today Yea! sunshine!
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Greta

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  10. Neat to see what the Florida "woods" looks like!

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  11. Oz I just love your adventure posts! They are the BEST!

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  12. We always bring water and treats. Sometimes a toy. That's it!

    Dina

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  13. I live in the wilds so I do what I always do.

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  14. That is a beautiful park. We would love to do outdoor adventures, but Lady says her camping days are behind her. She is just no fun!

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  15. That sure is a pretty place Oz, thanks for showing us!

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  16. Looks like a neat place, but I would be scared of all the creatures out there!

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  17. It looked like a scary place to me Oz! But it sounds like you had a good time and were cautious and its so beautiful makes it worth it. I don't think there is enough bug spray in the world to get mom out there! Love Dolly

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  18. That looks like such a great time, Oz! We used to go on more adventures out in the wild, but not so much anymore. Seeing this makes me miss it and want to start doing it again though (as long as there's cell phone service...hee hee)!
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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  19. that is a cool hammock, you have the coolest stuff. Looks like a really nice place, how nice to go help out your friends.

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  20. Man, doin' all that snoopervisin' is hard work Oz! No doggie could do it better than you! Oh, Ma has that same black and red workbench! It's mighty handy.
    I loves that bed and canopy! Ma has been tryin' to gets me to get on one, butts I'm not buyin' it...the strangest thingies freak me out! BOL
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  21. You are wearing your boots :-) Power Zuke Treats and a very fancy shaded bed. I bet you did a Pawsome job supawvising too. Golden Woofs

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  22. Wow!!! How beautiful is that!!! I bet you had a ton of fun there Oz!
    Loving the hammock too!!!!!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  23. We are exploring all the wild areas up here in NorCal....Big Cypress looks like a fun place for adventures!!
    Smileys!
    Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo

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  24. Dat looks like a very cool place!

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  25. Ooooh Oz I hope that you kept looking for crocodiles while led the work. Sniff and wags from Laika and Vaks.

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  26. OMD Oz it's bootiful, Nahh, I dont go on super adventures like you xxxoxxx

    Mollie and Alfie

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  27. Great work Oz! We're hoping to go on some more camping trips this year:-)

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  28. Oooo! We love outdoor gear! I can't wait to hear about what you like.

    And that looks like one fun and exhausting day!


    Bunny

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  29. Lucky friends. That looks like my kind of cabin!

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Cairn cuddles,
Oz the Terrier