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The Everglades! What a cool and interesting place. There is lots of sun for the solar panels and lots of nature to explore.

The weather in Florida is great this time of year. It stays warm and breezy, even at night, and it’s not too humid yet. This is my second time spending this time of year here, and I think I might make it a habit.

I camped at Long Pine Key Campground which is super cheap and right there in the park. No hookups (who needs them!) which is probably why it was mostly empty when every other campground in the state was full. Long Pine Key is way out in the middle of the everglades so it’s completely surrounded by nature and its sounds. What a great night’s sleep!

I took some cool long-exposures at night. Here’s what the glow of Miami looks like at midnight from about an hour away…

Here’s the view in the opposite direction, showing Orion behind trees lit by campfires. The bright spot furthest to the right is Mars.

There were a lot of cool birds, including Cardinals…

There were also giant frogs…

Sadly I didn’t see any gators on this trip, though I saw them last time I was here.

Here’s what my campsite looked like by day, and then by night…

There was also a really cool example of hybrid solar water heating. This is a really cool concept which I expand on over at the resource sovereignty blog.

Overall I would highly recommend Long Pine Key Campground. It was something like $18/night and there was basically nobody there during the week. The weekends get a little busy but the lack of hookups keeps most people away. Perfect boondocking spot in the Everglades.