Hey Y'all . . . Welcome to my Website
Courtesy of the University of North Florida
and Jack Woodward
Here is the link for the University of North Florida.
This is TOO WEIRD ! Time lapse of plants in a forest. I don't know what forest or where.
Downloaded from www.thegameshed.com
Hey y'all
This is a kayak trip on the Suwannee River up into the Okeefenokee Swamp on Saturday, 4/26
This first picture is our 'route' from Griffis Fish Camp up to our furthest most point. Dot and I anyway. Where the red flag is that says 'Tom' is where we left Tom behind. We had gotten to a point where there was a major blockage across the waterway that 'forced' a portage. Bear in mind, this is deep within gator country. Getting out of the kayak and pulling the boat across a small spit of land and back into the water on the other side is risky business. VERY risky business. Needless to say, one's senses are at an extremely heightened state. I got out of the kayak first and waded in mid-shin deep water to pull the kayak up onto the 'solid' land. Dot then got out of the kayak [monkey see, monkey do] and followed me. Believe me, we were MORE than well aware we were in gator country. 'THEIR' turf. By this time we had seen more than 15 alligators. So we were well aware of our circumstance. One of my favorite 'sayings' is, "What is life without risk?" Most people respond by saying, "Safe!" MY response is, "BORING!" And Dot is my counterpart . . my equal, in that regard. I could not dream of, nor wish for a better kayaking companion than Dot. She is as 'crazy' as I am. A risk-taker at heart. My kind of girl !
Here is a Google Earth picture of the same route. The very straight tracks you see are the canal adjacent to the Suwannee Sill. That is an earthen dike system designed to keep water within the swamp. You will also notice an area labeled as Middle Island. On the left side of that labeled 'A' is our path up to the second spillway. The path labeled 'B', is our return path back down to the first spillway.
This was starting out around 9'ish in the morning. At this time of morning, the sun reflecting off the water at a low angle is blinding at times. So we tend to head for areas where the sun is blocked by trees along the banks.
This was 'our' [Dot and I's] first gator of the day. By this time, Tom who was ahead of us had seen three. I think it was Tom who had pointed out this guy to us. He is probably about a 5 or 6 footer.
Here is a video of the encounter.