After work one afternoon, I headed to the preserve, which was about an hour away. The drive was pretty straightforward until I saw I was driving straight into a massive thunderstorm. I debated just turning around but stuck it out and finally made it to the preserve.

Once I got to the visitor center, I saw it was closed, and they had modified hours because of Covid. Outside the Big Cypress visitor center, though, is a boardwalk where you can walk and see alligators. When I pulled into the parking lot, I saw a family with their cat on a leash. I didn’t think too much about this situation; I ran into them later. While walking the boardwalk, I saw more alligators than at the Everglades; there were like ten or so just hanging out on the grass and in the water below the boardwalk…..