Why I created this interim

I never had any interest in the Everglades until last year.   I was on Sabbatical and was traveling around the country.  Both my wife Misty and I grew up in Tennessee and we spent much of the fall there.  When winter finally rolled around we figured we should go check out Florida and because we would probably never have this opportunity again.  We camped on both coasts, the panhandle, and the keys, but finding campsites was tough because it was the beginning of spring break.  However, deep in Everglades National Park there was a campsite that was always empty called Flamingo.  So we went there for a week.

The drive in was relatively unspectacular until you look closely.

 

The Density of the wildlife was amazing.  I think I identified 15 species of birds in an hour.

As I was Looking at all the maps, I noticed this area of the Everglades called the 10,000 Islands.

 
As a Paddler, I simply had to go there.  The combination of the biological diversity of an estuary system and the relatively safe ocean experience in the shallow waters of the Florida Bay made this seem an ideal place to bring students and explore. 

As my year away continued, I was renewing my First Responder certification in the mountains of North Carolina and I started talk to a guy about how cool I thought it would be to go back there.  His name was Chris.  He had been an Outward Bound guide in the Everglades for 5 years and had now started working for a company called Everglades Area Tours. We both kind of looked at each other and said "Hey Buddy".    So this is the wilderness that we will be exploring.  With local knowledge and support as well as with one of the people that is very involved in the restoration of the Everglades.  It is a perfect fit for CRMS.