Today’s adventure took us to the Everglades for an Airboat ride. We chose the Miccosukee Airboat and Indian Village Tour.

The Miccosukee Tribe was originally part of the same group of Creek Indians as the Seminole Tribe who fought against the U.S. government during the Seminole Wars of the 1800s. Part of our Homeschool curriculum is learning about Native Americans and this was a great opportunity to see parts of the Miccosukee village first hand.

When buying tickets, we were able to join a private tour with tour guide as there was only the one scheduled boat.

We skimmed across grassy waters looking for wildlife and saw fish, heron, alligators, and a caiman. Caiman are not native to Florida so how it got here is a mystery. We saw five alligators sunbathing and then stopped at a preserved village. At the village, we sat under a thatched hut called a chickee while the tour guide provided information on the way the chickees were made, how the people lived, and some history of the surrounding area.

While walking around the village boardwalk, we got to meet Mama, a 65 year old alligator. She was raised as a pet and has remained in the area. She was hiding under the boardwalk and we could only see her tail until the airboat driver jumped down and wiggled her tail, causing her to move into the open area for better viewing. The driver has known Mama since he was 16 and was able to let us know she was about to yawn