3/7/09: The Everglades is the only park I've been to where people are encouraged to get off the trail (it's called "slogging"). I guess they don't have to worry about too many people overrunning the wildlife, what with the lack of sound footing, the alligators and crocodlies, the poisonous trees, and venomous snakes. I had to walk on the mangroves to get anywhere. Here's a fun fact: The mangrove forests in the Everglades and Florida Bay make up one of the largest old growth forests in North America. That's because they don't grow on real land and no one wants the wood.