Alligator Allery: Not a touristy name.
From 2005:
Alligator Alley is an 80 mile section of I-75 that connects South Florida east to west.
It is not just a cute name for the tourist, but a reflection of the fauna that populates both sides of the highway and they are not the cuddly critters of the Disney movies. The thing that stuck me in awe first was that both sides of the road are fenced to keep a separation between animals and people. That is at least 160 miles of chain-link that does its job till something happens like a car going through it after bypassing the guardrails and gators deciding it would be cool to take a closer look at the new models of vehicles that came out this year.
The gators should be about to come out of the cold or already out and in mating season which makes them very visible and with less temper than usual. One March many years ago, me and the Missus were driving to Saint Pete for an IDPA match, and you could see the modern dinosaurs lined up sunning and snapping at each other. Missus decided to count how many she saw on her side but eventually called it off after reaching 120. And we were not even a third of the way.
The best definition of Florida I heard not too long ago was that it is a mix of Jurassic Park and Jumanji. I would add “for starters.”
And always remember: Once you enter any body of water in Florida, you are no longer a top of the Food Chain.
I remember talking to a co-worker about 40 years ago; he had done computer work at a Pratt & Whitney test facility somewhere in that area. As he described it, they had a long causeway to the buildings, with a guard shack on the causeway. I asked him if the site was fenced. Answer: no, they have gators.
The first time I heard the name Alligator Alley was as the location of a dropzone (skydiving facility). I'm not sure which one, Zephyr Hills perhaps though that's a bit further north. It certainly was a way to tell visitors "be careful not to land off-field".
“if you gonna be dumb… ya better be tuff…