Roadtrip Series Florida

The sights on the trip are breathtaking. Tristan took us for miles, through tunnels of the red, white and black mangroves that lined the waterways. We saw otters, gators, ibis, herons and more as we eased our way through the shaded curves and underbrush.

Tristan explained that the path we took was created naturally, and that the Captain Jack’s crew had been taking tourists and locals through the same winding area for decades. At many junctures of the trip, the riverways emptied out into large ponds and lakes, which were rich with wildlife … including alligators. Our crew was amazed as we quietly floated around in these open areas while huge gators, some as long as 10 feet, cruised by our boat.

It was an experience we won’t soon forget.

Local Points Of Interest

Before visiting Captain Jack’s sister attraction, Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours, we swung by a local point of interest—the U.S. Post Office in Ochopee. Often referred to as The United States’ Smallest Post Office, it was originally an irrigation pipe shed that was urgently pressed into service in 1953 after a fire destroyed the main Ochopee General Store and Post Office. It is currently owned by the Wooten family and is still in service, including its use as a bus station.

Down U.S. 41 is one of Florida’s most famous attractions—Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours. Wooten’s pairs perfectly with Captain Jack’s by offering a different perspective on the area’s woodlands and waters. They feature a grassland airboat tour, taking advantage of the vast expanse of the Big Cypress National Preserve and its open waterways. Our party was introduced to Captain Matt, who eased us out through the main canal and past the gator nests that lined it, taking us to over 250 acres of private grasslands.

The Everglades Adventures Hotel Suites by Ivey House (inset) makes for a comfortable home base. Pictured (clockwise from the top left) are an aerial view of the accommodations, a shell cistern ruin is all that is left of the improvements on Fakahatchee Island, America's Smallest Post Office in Ochopee, Florida, (circa 1940) and not much different today, Louis Daniels' grandfather and his friends at the Fakahatchee schoolhouse in the early 1900s, a reminder sign that you're in Florida.