Okefenokee

One of the fun things about having Lea, our daughter from Germany, living with us this school year is that we are more encouraged to go do and see lots of fun things on weekends and school breaks.  This past Labor Day weekend we decided to head 5 hours south to the 

Okefenokee Swamp.  

 

This picture got us started off on a humorous note!  Justin said "Want to know how to contain a toddler in a public bathroom?" Oh boy! Silas' face is too cute as he is hanging on the bathroom door hook.  At least it kept him from rummaging in the trashcan and crawling under the stalls!

From a hook to the sky! Silas got a chance to fly!

We arrived in Folkston and enjoyed a stroll around town.  There were lots of trains to watch and a big fake alligator to visit.

 Sunday morning we headed into the swamp.

 If you look carefully in this picture you will see a great blue heron that the kids are walking towards.  In 10 minutes we saw the heron, a gator, a snake, and about 100 dragon flies.

We enjoyed a boat tour of the swamp.

 

Saw lots of alligators.  We even saw one leap for a fish!

 I had been to the swamp in middle school, and I remembered it looking much different from what we saw.  A few years ago there was a HUGE fire in the swamp that cleared about 20 miles of trees.  The result was that there was much more 'prairie' space and much fewer cypress trees (at least in the entrance near Folkston).

One thing I didn't plan for was how HOT the swamp would be.  Nearly 100 degrees with no shade from cypress trees... made for a rather miserable boardwalk stroll.

 

At the end of the boardwalk was a nice observation tower.

  

There were a handful of big trees by the tower sporting lovely Spanish moss.

 

The heat zapped us so thoroughly that Justin ended up carrying three kids at once! (Nothing, and I mean nothing, zaps Justin.)

 Here we are relishing a spot of shade along the boardwalk.  See the burned stumps of trees behind us?

 On our way out of town Monday we stopped at Okefenokee Swamp Park, which is more touristy but a lot of fun for the kids.  They even got to hold a baby alligator and some red corn snakes!

#1 lesson learned?  Go to the swamp in the SPRING when the weather is cooler!