Touring The Tamiami

Thinking back, my best memory of traveling along the Tamiami Trail was in the late 1980s. Rick and I were motorcycle enthusiasts and back then, we owned a large touring bike called the Yamaha Venture Royale. It had all the creature comforts like padded leather seats, matching helmets, hard side bags and trunk and a great intercom system between driver and passenger. Rick was driving as I sat behind him watching the world go by on our joy ride along the Tamiami. I remember being amazed at the high number of alligators I saw in the canal that ran along the right side of this two lane road. The scenery along the roadway was desolate except for miles and miles of grasslands that seemed to never end.
Tamiami is the southernmost stretch of US Highway 41 that runs from Tampa to Miami, thus the name "Ta-Miami". 

  (map photo courtesy of internet)

It took thirteen years to build the Tamiami Trail, cost $8 million US, used 2.6 million sticks of dynamite during construction and finally opened in 1928. Today, the road remains one lane in each direction and has its abundance of roadside attractions along the way, many involving airboat rides and tours of the Everglades, which is also known as the "River of Grass". 

Being born and raised in the state of Florida, I've taken a lot of scenery, landmarks and attractions in my home state for granted without appreciating the beauty, history and legends behind them. Thanks to Clyde Butcher, a famous American photographer known for his black and white photos of Florida's Everglades, my curiosity has been peaked. His photos highlight trails, wetlands and nature I have never seen before. Time for me to go exploring in my own "backyard" a little at a time and get to know it better.

Rick and I set out early for a drive along the Tamiami starting south at the Turnpike then headed north to State Road 29. This was our first return trip since our motorcycle drive back in the 80's. The first thing I noticed was how lush and green the scenery had become. The canal on the right was lined with mangroves, thick brush and cypress trees. After our drive I did some research and found out that when the Trail was built, the construction created a dam blocking water flow and devastating the ecology in the area. In the 1990's and 2009, temporary corrections were made to improve the water flow and the region began to blossom. We definitely saw the positive effects of these changes. 

The next thing I noticed was that the Tamiami Trail runs along the Miccosukee Indian Reservation and through the Big Cypress National Preserve. The signage is prevalent now.

Leon Whilden, one of the "Hermits of the Everglades", is responsible for 7 of the 729,000 acres of vast wild swamp that is the Big Cypress National Preserve. In 1950, Leon purchased 13 acres of swamp property on the south side of Tamiami Trail, which he called the "Orchid Isles" and 7 acres of swamp across the street on the north side of Tamiami Trail. In 1968, plans were in motion to build a Jetport midway between Tampa and Miami on Tamiami Trail and would be the largest airport in the world. WHOA! Conservationists created awareness of the destruction this would cause to the Florida Everglades and halted the development of this airport. Preservation was put into place. Leon lost his 7 acres on the north side to the National Park Service (Big Cypress National Preserve) but was able to keep all 13 acres on the south side of the road.  

I'll bet you were also wondering about the Miccosukee Indian Tribe and what that has to do with Tamiami's past. Well, good thing I read minds. Native Indians played a major role in the history and development of the state of Florida. One of the tribes in Florida is the Miccosukee. They were part of the Seminole nation, another popular tribe in Florida, until the mid-20th century when the Miccosukees organized and became independent. Their origins can be traced to a tribe in the state of Georgia. However, European immigrants moved into their territory and forced the Miccosukee further south into the northern part of Florida. The British were the first to record the name Miccosukee in the late 18th century. After the Seminole Wars of 1817-1858 against US forces and further displacement, the Miccosukee established reservations along the Tamiami Trail in the 1920-1930's and mixed with the Seminoles while maintaining their own traditions and language. These Indians living along Tamiami became collectively known as the "Trail Indians". Later in 1957, the Seminoles organized and were recognized as a tribe. The Miccosukee gained state recognition separately that year and federal recognition in 1962. They recognized opportunity in the 20th century by opening and operating a resort and conference center on the reservation on the south end of Tamiami. Yet, further north they teach their tribal customs and activities to keep their traditions alive with the public at the Miccosukee Indian Village roadside attraction.

Remember the 13 acres I mentioned earlier belonging to Leon Whilden? Clyde Butcher and his wife Niki purchased this land in 1992 and opened up one of their two galleries here. Located at mile marker 54.5, Clyde Butcher's Big Cypress Gallery stands where Leon Whilden used to live. Besides being a showplace of Clyde's beautiful black and white photos of the Everglades and a home to Clyde and Niki, the property is dedicated to the preservation and education of Florida's wild and untamed beauty, including a home to many of Leon's orchids he collected. 

  

 (photo of Clyde & Niki courtesy of internet)Our drive along Tamiami led us to Monroe Station which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Closed and boarded up now, it sits on the property of the Big Cypress National Preserve at the corner of Loop Road and Tamiami Trail. Monroe Station was a popular restaurant before the land became part of the Preserve. Because Loop Road was on the border inside Monroe County and out of Dade County (Miami) jurisdiction, its history includes tales of lawlessness about bootleggers, thieves, and poachers. Even Al Capone is said to have operated a club in the area known as "Pine Crest". A ride down Loop Road is a 25 mile stretch of crushed lime rock deep into the Everglades. I will save that trip for another day.

Driving along Tamiami, you need to remember you are in a living wildlife sanctuary. The Preserve takes extra care to protect its animals, such as the endangered Florida Panthers. So expect to see signs, including ones that are solar powered and flash when sensors planted along the road actually detect wildlife on the roadway and alert drivers to slow down. 

  

Around mile marker 70, we stopped at Joanie's Blue Crab Cafe. This building was an old cattle barn in the 1930's, then a bulk plant for storing drums of gasoline and oil. Carl and Joanie Griffin purchased the building and adjacent filling station in 1976. Joanie opened her restaurant in 1987 and continues to operate it. Carl ran a garage and Chevron station, the first concrete-block building in the county. Joanie's restaurant is a local favorite and her small lunch only menu includes selections such as gator ribs, fried bread, blue crab sandwich, cactus salad and frog legs (menu subject to change). Unfortunately, we arrived too early for lunch so we will have to give it a whirl another time. 

  

  

Just up the road at marker 71.5 was the Ochopee Post Office. Ochopee began as a one family tomato farming community in the early 1920's and progressed into privately owned property of the Gaunt Family then a small town. The name came from a Seminole Indian word for farm. The original post office burned down (along with much of the town) in 1953 so the residents of Ochopee began using an old storage shed to hold the mail. This is what stands today in near original shape, still in use and is the smallest post office in the US.

  

At the juncture of State Road 29, we found the Tamiami Trail Historic Marker in a gas station parking lot on the southwest corner of the intersection.  

We drove north on State Road 29 to find the site of the old Bula Baptist Mission and Cemetery. It was built in the 1940's for the black families in the community, many of whom worked for the Lee Tidewater Cypress Company which led a logging operation from 1943 to 1957. A woman whose husband worked for the logging company was a midwife and delivered babies in the area. Her name was Anna Mae Perry and she buried the stillborn babies at the Mission. 

On our left was a dirt path that took us to Turnstile Road. Tucked back off SR 29 was this very small community with homes and a couple of dead end paths. 

  

We stopped and asked two residents about the Mission location and found out it was demolished in 2011 after deteriorating. What we did find was the Copeland Baptist Church built in the vicinity and no sign of the cemetery. But it was fun exploring. 

  

The last stop on our journey for the day was supposed to be Deep Lake in the Preserve. During the Seminole Wars, Deep Lake was 300 acres on relatively high ground (for swampland) and near the home of Chief Billy Bowlegs and his band. Deep Lake Hammock was later purchased and developed by a Walter Langford and a John Roach. In 1900 they planted grapefruit which was transported in 1913 by rail south to Port DuPont on the Allen River (now the Barron River) in Everglades City. The Deep Lake Railroad was officially opened later that same year. Barron Collier (Collier County named after him) purchased the grapefruit grove and the railway in the 1920's. Collier rebuilt the road, brought in steam locomotives and used the line for logging operations. The railroad ran for only 14 miles. The land is now part of the Preserve. The lake itself is a freshwater sinkhole formed about 6,000 years ago.

The only road leading to Deep Lake off of SR 29 is fenced in and closed, occupied by the  Deep Lake Fire Station. I later found out that accessing the trail requires parking on the road shoulder, opening and walking through the chain link fence then ducking under a yellow bar/gate. The trail to Deep Lake is located to the north of the Fire Station. The hike is one mile round trip and in the summer is host to alligators, water moccasins, black bears and panthers, not to mention hot, humid conditions. Since the thermometer outside the car was already pegging 92F and we didn't bring our hiking gear, we chose on the side of caution and continued our drive home. 

Brown grasshoppers were hopping all over the roadway and being crushed by cars. I asked Rick to pull over and I got out and braved a few photos of the big, brown, googly-eyed insects that I used to fear as a kid. I kept saying out loud "don't hop on me, don't hop on me". Ugh!!

  

We had to take Alligator Alley home. While we had been out exploring, a bad electrical storm was occuring near home. Lightning strikes started a huge fire in the Everglades and closed down the Fort Lauderdale airport after putting three holes in the runway. The smoke from the Everglades fire was causing the sky to become gray and hazy. 

After we got out of the smoke, we could see in the distance to our left the bright orange glow of the fire and the clear edge between the gray smoke and clear sky.

Closer to home, we drove into the tail end of the storm, which darkened the sky. 

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