Okefenokee and the Gators

George and I decided we wanted to get away for the weekend and decided it was a good idea to go north with all the heat we were having--bad idea, it was hotter north than here in Jacksonville! But with that said, we had a fantastic time even if it was over 100 degrees in Georgia. Jeff and the boys came along while Amy stayed home with little Lola--much too hot for her.

First we went to Folkston, Georgia, to the train viewing stand. I had to reminisce when Natalie and I took Ethan and Ella there.It was an adventure we had looked forward to the whole time they lived in Gainesville, only to find that we could see as many trains go by if we just went to the caboose park in Green Cove and watched for them there. But it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun as watching all the people bringing their computers and timing all the trains, setting up their tri-pods, and taking pictures every 10 minutes when the trains roll by. I mean, how many pictures of trains can you take? I guess a bunch, because those people were settled down for a good long time to just relax until a new train came by to wave at and take pictures of. You know--Folkston is the train capital of Florida, America, maybe even the world!

Then we went about eight miles into Okefenokee State Park. Did you know that Okefenokee means "trembling earth"? That's what the Native Americans called it when they saw the earth moving which was really sediment of decomposing plants and animals.

We went inside the little museum there and learned about the history of the area from an "old timer."

We also walked under a fake waterway to see what it looks like under water with gators and birds reaching down to get fish. It was really life-like.
Then we took an hour and a half boat trip down the river channel.Because it was so hot, not many animals were out, but we did see a turtle who the river guide pointed out had probably been chomped on by a gator because of his jagged shell.

Then we finally got to see a gator. We were so happy to finally see one!

After getting back in the car, we saw a bunch of people by a little lake, so we stopped and George started doing his gator call. I have actually seen a gator come near to us by George doing it. Well, it happened again. Not only did the little 4 or 5-foot gator come toward us, he started hissing at us. Seriously, I saw how the gator was coming nearer and nearer and hissing, so it was definitely time to go. I didn't want to ruin a great day! Moral of the story: No "Georgia Gator" is going to get the best of a "Florida Gator"!!!!