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 Florida Caverns State Park series. Canoeing down the river with J3 up front. J1 and J2 are up ahead. This was one of the highlights of the trip and it almost didn't happen. The first morning at the park, we went for a bike ride a little after sunrise and rode by the place where you launch canoes. All well and good until J2 read this sign. She and J3 didn't really think it was a good idea to head out on water where gators could be swimming around and the details the sign provided didn't help. So we spent the day biking and hiking and caving and had a good time. That afternoon we talked to a park ranger about the canoe trip and asked if alligators were a problem. He told us the same thing you always hear about other wild critters. Yes there are gators 'but they're more scared of you than you are of them.' I'm not so sure that's true but the talk worked and the girls were once again excited about going. It was too late that day so we headed out first thing the next morning. It was beautiful out there. We were all alone almost the entire time and it was so peaceful. I think we saw just two other canoes the whole time we were out. But that's not all we saw. On the way downstream we saw this gator sunning himself of the bank. As you can see, the photo is a little fuzzy and here's why. After we spotted him and drifted past, I decided I wanted a picture. So I tell the J's in the other canoe what we're going to do. Then the J in my canoe starts freaking out a little bit because I want to go back and get closer to the reptile with sharp teeth. I calm her down some but she's still not too happy about the idea. I assure her that he's only 3 or 4 feet long and nothing to worry about. To which she says, 'If he's a baby then there's a mama around somewhere.' Good point. But I quickly retort, 'Nahhh'. Since I won the argument, we turn and paddle back up stream past the point where the gator is hanging out and start drifting back toward him. This calls for a long lens so I change lenses in a canoe in the middle of a river which is not really that smart but then again I'm taking my daughter back with me to take a picture of an alligator in the wild so compared to that, it was no big deal. I did however underestimate how difficult it would be to take a sharp photo with a telephoto lens while trying to steer a moving canoe. So that's why the fuzzy photo. It was extremely cool to see though. ------------------ -Reading Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire by Rafe Esquith. I saw The Hobart Shakespeareans a while back and loved it so I picked up his book. Love it too. -Watched The Producers with J1 tonight and Saint Ralph last night. -We all went out to Barrancas National Cemetery this morning and then over to the Naval Aviation Museum for a while. Trying to remind ourselves that Memorial Day is more than just a day off. -Big trip to the NYC coming up fast. Can't wait. Have a great one. Posted by blbutler on May 25th, 2008 Archived under: Color, Nature, Travel, Wordplay |
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