No better way to spend a Saturday in the Spring than out on the water.

SATURDAY - No matter how bone tired you are, unless you are used to this type of living, it's rough to sleep well and long while camping on a wooden platform. Especially when there is only a tarp between your sleeping bag and an old weathered board of a dock. I didn't sleep particularly well Friday night, mostly because I was still cold despite having a great sleeping bag. For some reason my feet never did warm up and that just isn’t fun. And somehow I strained my left forearm just above the wrist which makes me think I must have hit it on the dock at some point or strained it while pushing myself up to reposition during the night. I already hear the jokes from some of my friends and family, though, and I invite you all to laugh it up. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Anyways, when you live in a tent for a few days you tend to not sleep late because the tent doesn't have drapes/blinds to keep the sun out and also, because it’s not sound proof. You should have heard the birds just before day break. There were birds we could recognize like owls, but then there were others that made me feel like I was in a scene from Jurassic Park.

But I wasn't really complaining because when you get down to it, the sounds were really awesome (not man-made at all and just true nature) and when I poked my head out what a glorious sunrise it was. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, it was already starting to warm up and things just looked.... Happier. Greener. More welcoming. The water around us was like glass and as people rose from their sleep, we all were just refreshed, and it was not because we got great sleep the night before as the snoring competition hit a fever pitch that night and I don't know if anybody else heard it, but something swam under the dock during the night. Yeah, that left me with a warm fuzzy feeling inside. A swimming raccoon or other critter. Awesome.

But despite the snoring, the possibility of a swimming critter and the chilly conditions, stillI feel like we were all a bit more refreshed because there was finally sun and it was just looking like it was going to be a beautiful day. Bee-ee-ae-uteeful. And that made us all very happy, happy, happy.

Breakfast was very similar to dinner in that some weren't roughing it nearly as much as others while others were still figuring things out. I have to say the chicken and rice MRE from the night before made me very optimistic for the morning's scrambled eggs with bacon bits (I mean, who doesn’t like something with bacon bits on it?). However, this time I was a little disappointed. Not horrible and it did give me something like 17 grams of protein, but I could tell I would be feeling a disturbance in the force later. “Paddle faster.”

As we were all finishing up breakfast, Jeff and Dave S. we're finishing packing. Again, early risers who, while not necessarily in a hurry, just don’t like to sit around. But this time they actually had exploring they wanted to do. I have to admit I was a little surprised by this because I thought they had seen it all and were just content with getting out, paddling and then hanging out waiting on the rest of us.

But before they could get off we experienced a visitor. A very good omen for the upcoming day. I was poking around the campsite when I caught motion through the air. "Great, more buzzards or small birds wanting to be fed." But no, this was a welcomed site and visitor.

A barred owl swooped in from across the prairie and took a spot on a small tree just off our dock/landing. As in maybe 20 feet away. And he sat there and just watched us and watched the prairie for around 10-15 minutes. Just cool as can be. I tell you, they have trained these animals well. I bet he got an extra mouse for that later. Either that or the animatronics here are superb and Disney could learn a thing or two from them.

After our feathered friend posed for some pictures and then took off (twice, actually, because once just wasn’t enough for him), the rest of us packed, and loaded our kayaks. Now, this was kind of fun because a few of us chose just to lay on our bellies and load our kayaks from above while others preferred to have their boats brought onto the platform so they could put things in easier. Either way works. I just felt more accomplished having hung upside down a bit to cram my gear in from a foot and a half or so above my kayak.

Finally packed and ready to go, we headed out in a long single file line deeper into the prairie. Dad, Dave R. and I took up a post near the back so we could just take our time. The others weren’t necessarily in a hurry, but Dave and I both wanted to film as much as possible (I’m looking forward to his footage, by the way) and it’s just easier if we weren’t holding up the caravan.

While it was much more of the same, we were all in better moods with the sun shining and lots and lots of songbirds. Remember those swallows from the day before? Well, they brought reinforcements today. And where I thought they were swooping fast the day before, today they were on hyper drive! Like Energizer Bunny on speed with a shot of Redbull fast.

But the swallows and other songbirds were not the only birds we saw early on. Sure, we could see more egrets, herons, storks and others off in the distance,

but tounding one island/clump of trees, several of the group members ahead came to a stop and started pointing and staring up. Well, what do ya know? Another hawk from the looks of it.

I’m not really sure what type of hawk he is, but he appeared to be a juvenile due to his ruffled down feathers. And like the owl, he sat perched on his tree and ignored us as we gaped and photographed him. I freaking love well-behaved animals, even if they are on a payroll for the park.

Following this, we continued to zig and zag through more prairie, watching the various birds and plant life before finally coming to an intersection... and Jeff and Dave S.! They were waiting on us to share the news: just ahead and down a path to the left are gators and possibly a bald eagle. And the way to one section we were told was closed was just over grown but passable if we wanted to hack at some foliage (well, I know Bob and Dad would be up for this. If they don’t get to use their machete, hatchet or saw at least once on a trip, then it’s not really an adventure).

So now we're moving with a little more purpose. As if the gators saw Jeff and Dave and went, "Well there goes the neighborhood. Better pack it on up for the day."

It took a little more than I thought, but I did see another gator take a dive before finally coming up on where Bernie, Kim, Bob and Dave R. are stopped at an intersection checking out a 4-5 foot gator sunning himself. Now, I'm not one to use the word beautiful a lot when describing certain things like bugs, reptiles and amphibians, but this guy was a thing of beauty to me. I have to admit I was like a little kid in a candy store, finally.

Well, where there is one gator, there have to be more, right? So we kept going a bit (honestly, I was hoping to find that eagle) and found a pretty cool lagoon, but no more gators there and no eagle. I think they may have seen a buzzard or something and mistaken it. Maybe, only photographic evidence counts here, people.

Now that we have seen our first gator, we can go home. Pack it in. Trip's over, right? Naaaaaah. There's still a lot to see and explore. I don't give up that easily, usually.

So, after a quick snack in our hidden lagoon, we went back the way we came, waved at ... let's call him Pete, again and continued on. Suddenly, we start seeing more gators. We see one with moss on his head like a toupee, then a bigger guy with a lot of ridges on his back as well (this one I believe was the biggest we would see the whole trip. Although I didn’t exactly get out at each one and measure).

And that's not counting the ones we didn’t see... Think about that next time you're in the woods or swamp: just because you don't see them, doesn't mean they don't see you. You’re welcome for that.

Now that I've scared you a bit, we also came across two larger birds that none of us recognized, but we couldn’t get over how awesome they looked. Big orange-red patches on their heads and these big, golden eyes. We later found out they are sandhill cranes. Beautiful birds that mate for life (according to my mom), and we found out that these were some of the birds that we heard early in the morning making very loud, almost goose-like calls.

And, of course, we start seeing more gators. Almost to the point where we start becoming gator snobs. "Hey look, they're slowing down to look at... Oh, just a 4-footer? Psh, please. I've seen bigger in the last 20 minutes." But it really was still cool to see how different each one was. One would be laid out as long as he could go, while others preferred to be curled up a bit. Another would just stare us down and not do anything, while another would either hiss at us or sink below the surface and most likely take off.

We even ended up following one little guy who found himself out in our path... And this was the point where General Akbar would proclaim, "It's a trap!!" Yup, we were too enthralled with the little guy in our way that we almost missed the three other gators on the sides. 

And one is obviously perturbed and hissing at us. Awesome. You sneaky little bastard. So we high tailed it out of there a bit more than we normally would have and make it back onto the canal and turn right like the map says to do.

Now that we’re off the prairie, we were planning on having lunch at a spot called Canal Run. It was another spot I believe Dad had wanted to stay, but it would serve as a cool spot for lunch. So, off the prairie, again, we turned right and start going along. According to the map, the shelter should be about a quarter to half a mile up. So we’re paddling, and we’re paddling, and we’re winding and realizing things seems a bit too over grown and uncared for. We should have been there by now and playing limbo and shake and twist with our longer boats is starting to make us wonder, did we pass it? Man that looks like a great place for a snake... Is that a dead end? Yup.

Turns out we turned too soon and ventured up a section of the canal that is not on the map (go us! New territory discovered! Bob claimed it for the King of Spain). No wonder we couldn't find our lunch spot, we’re not even going the right direction (we were heading almost due north when we should have been heading west with a slight north tilt). But it was fun and not like we were on a time crunch.

So we back tracked, played limbo under some trees again and came back to where the trap had been laid... To find a cheeky little gator wanting to test his luck against Dave R.

Now, gators apparently normally show their bodies for two reasons. One is to sun themselves and it means just that. I'm cold and the sun is warm. But when swimming, or just observing they prefer to keep their head up but body down so you don't know how big they might be, until they'd float that body up to show you, "I'm a biggun, look at me." And that's what this guy was doing. And then he slowly started to swim towards Dave! Dave, being the baaaaaaad man that he is, thought it was the coolest thing and sat there watching and filming him. But more level head prevailed, and we all took the hint and took off.

On the map, we didn’t realize that we had to head south from that point where the cheeky little fella was for about a quarter mile and then turn right up into the canal again. And, sure enough, there was Canal Run on our left. Right where it was supposed to be.

Now, all the platforms are about a foot-and-a-half to two feet off the water and pretty much built the same in that they are around 20 feet wide by 32 feet long. So, as we approached each, we would look to see the best way to get out of our kayaks and up onto the platforms. When I pulled up with Dave R., I went ahead and just docked up next to it. He asked if I wanted to get out that way or beach it, but I was feeling good about my chances so I gave it the old college try. And I succeeded. And I’m glad I did for a couple reasons. The main reason was I had my canon DSLR in my lap, so I didn’t want to flip over and loose that bad boy and all the pictures (I’ve lost a camera before to the deep waters of a river and I was not planning on repeating that).

But there was an obvious second reason, and those of you reading are probably going, “GATORS, YOU MORON! YOU’RE IN GATOR COUNTRY!” Trust me, I know. We saw 40-50 between 11 AM Saturday and 10:00 AM Sunday, so I was well-aware of what might happen if I fell in. But I wasn’t aware of how close that danger was until about 10 minutes into lunch when someone (I don’t remember who) said, “Wow, look at the far bank!” And sure enough, there he/she/it sat. One of the bigger gators we would see on the trip. Well now, doesn’t that make me glad I didn’t fall in even more. As if that was possible.

Lunch on this trip, at least for Dad and me, was lunchables. I am not even ashamed to say it, because Dad was a genius with this. It’s easy to pack, they come with a drink with a bendy straw, you also get some form of candy treat with it and it’s light enough on the stomach it won’t make you want to nap in the middle of paddling along. We also had water and trail mix while others snacked on various other items. Just getting our rest for a final dive down the canal to our stay for the night.

After lunch, we didn’t have very far to go. In all honesty, we traveled maybe 40 miles between Friday and Sunday, which might seem like a lot, but when you’re exploring and seeing everything that we saw, you don’t really notice it TOO much. Sure, you’re sore, your butt’s sore from sitting for long hours, your legs are sore from being bent for long hours, your arms and chest are a little sore from paddling long hours… but it’s really fun and exciting.

So, anyways, we continued on and continued to play find the gator. Again, 40-50 in just under 24 hours means we saw a LOT of these guys along the way to Coffee Bay. Again, some were just not that exciting while others were very much worth pictures. Some even seemed to be posing. Others, had no desire to be photographed and would either slowly sink from view, or would thrash and make a scene leaving, as one did to poor Bob at one point. Maybe they didn’t like how he smelled or Bob told a bad joke… either way, the gator wanted nothing to do with Bob after the rest of us went past with little issue.

But we did see two really cool things on this stretch worth mentioning. One was a momma gator. And we knew this by the 10 younger gators she had around her. Now, if you know anything about animals and their young, you do NOT mess with a baby of any species. Especially if momma is within earshot. And the same holds true for alligators. So, we made sure to give her and her young’uns plenty of space. Thank goodness for zoom lenses so I could get a couple pictures.

And the other thing was kind of a bonding moment for me and Dave R. Now, I’ve mentioned it before I think, but Dave R. is a pretty awesome person to have around when on an adventure. He knows a lot about a lot of things, does a lot of research, and is just a cool guy. Chuck Norris wants to be Dave R. when he grows up, trust me. Anyways, Dave and I got to talk a bit on this trip and I really enjoyed it (not that I didn’t enjoy paddling and talking with the others, I’m not playing favorites here). But as we got near the end of our paddle on Saturday, Dave started telling me about his “white whale” so to speak. He’s been paddling for some time now and one animal he has always tried to film and photograph was the pileated woodpecker. It’s the biggest of the woodpecker family and is a very lovely bird with a distinctive call that sounds like a laugh.

Well, at one point I was up just ahead of Dave and Nancy when I hear pecking. I came to as abrupt of a stop as you can in a kayak and searched and searched… and there he was.

A pileated woodpecker just to my left. I made sure to snap a few pics and started to try to wave Dave in, but the little guy took off. Or so I thought. I showed Dave the pics and he was definitely appreciative that I had gotten him a couple good ones, but the highlight for him was obviously after I left when the little guy showed back up so he could get about 30 seconds of footage of the woodpecker.

Now, just because we had reached the end of paddling for the day does not mean this is the end of the day’s adventure. Sure, dinner was much of the same except instead of chicken and rice I had beef stroganoff (not as good as the night before, but definitely worth wolfing down) but this time we had a campfire off to the side that we could enjoy and helped us stay up a bit later.

And the major difference between Coffee Bay and Round Top (where we stayed the night before) was that there was land for us to spread out on.

Jeff, Dave S. and Bob all set up their tents on land on the one side of the platform on the ground while Allison and Nancy set theirs up on the other. Bernie and Kim, Dave R., Dad and I chose to stay on the platform. Hey, if gators were going to visit us in the night, they were going to have to get through those other tasty morsels before coming up on us. And I had seen a t-shirt or sign a couple days prior that had a bear and it said, “Sleeping bags are like human burritos to bears.” And I’m sure the same could be said for gators.

And let me tell you, we had a pretty close encounter I feel. While we were all sitting around the campfire talking, we started to hear it… and it was close. If you have time, Youtube “bull alligator call.” It’s a very deep, throaty call that they sometimes use to say, “Hey, I’m here. Back off!” And they do this towards other gators. Maybe even as a mating call, but it definitely also serves as a warning to other males in the area… or, I this case, as a reason for others to smack talk back. The first one we heard sounded close. As in within 10-20 yards of us. Cool, but also not cool. The hairs on my arms and back of my neck were standing up, but I was also really thinking this was soooo cool. And of course Dave R. is giddy as a teenager at prom.

Now, remember how I told you that just because you don’t see them, doesn’t mean they don’t see you? And how we saw 40-50 gators? Well, there are definitely way more than that in the refuge and suddenly another to the left of the first, but a similar distance, answered. Before long, we could hear them all around. One was way off in the distance but he had the deepest call of them all. I kind of wish I could have seen him during the day because I feel like he must have been huuuuuuge. And they were all just calling to each other. Now THAT is a creepy way to go to sleep.

Here are a couple more pics from the day:

Not sure if you can see him, but that's a banded kingfisher in the middle.