23

Instead of hitting up the beach in Florida like almost every other Memorial Day tripper, Leah and I finally made our way to the Okefenokee Swamp, located just North of the Florida-Georgia line (a small part of it is actually in Florida). I had many preconceived visualizations of the Refuge, especially since Leah has been there once as a child and has told me all about how wild and "swampy" it is, but nothing prepared me for how truly primeval and untouched the Okefenokee Swamp really is. We arrived at the east entrance of the park with our canoe still safely snug on top of the car, and unfortunately with some ominous storm clouds in tow. Ignoring the chance of a drastic weather change, we decided to go ahead and canoe the canal. A four or five foot long gator greeted us at the boat ramp (he was literally chilling out on the cement ramp, and another boater who was leaving claimed that the canal promised many gators ahead! We oddly did not come across any more aligators, but we spotted a pair of barred owls, a nest of hawks, a mother mourning dove in her nest, a prothonotary warbler (SO MUCH YELLOW!!), and several other birds. The quietness of the swamp was striking. We passed a few boats giving tours but other than that no human beings were around besides us. I wondered how many places like this still exist in America. The threatening storms forced us to turn back after paddling about a mile or so. I hope to someday return to the outdoor wonders of the Okefenokee Swamp.