Canoeing with the Alligators!

Today we got the opportunity to witness first-hand the wildlife of the Florida swamp land! We arrived at Hillsborough River State Park in Thonotosassa for a 11:00 canoe trip. We took four canoes; partners were Dad and Jesse, Mom and Travis, Billy and Justin, and Jonathan and Me.

Everyone gets started!

Dad & Jesse

Mom & Travis

Billy & Justin

Jonathan & Me (Stephanie)

Jonathan steered my boat!

Jesse was an avid paddler!

The trip was 2.5 hours and we went about 4.5 miles. The entire route was swampy land, which was really neat to experience! We saw several alligators-both big and small- herons, what I think were Cooter turtles, and the white ibis bird. 

We saw two small alligators laying on a log. They appeared to be about 2 years old.

This is one of the bigger alligators we saw!

The scenery was beautiful! (Billy & Justin in the canoe)

This is one of the turtles we saw.

Another Alligator! Fortunately nobody became gator food!

It was really neat to see them all! They weren't all quite as large as we expected. Mom wasn't nearly as nervous after seeing that most were smaller than us.

We all had some slight difficulties maneuvering our canoes, but no terrible incidents occurred. By the time we finished, we were quite tired from all the rowing! We arrived at the stopping place and the shuttle bus picked us up and brought us back to the park. It was a fun and interesting experience! I think a lot of people miss out on the real nature of Florida when they come here! It is a beautiful place with a landscape much different than ours back home!

Of course, this heat and humidity are what keep us feeling right at home! It is cooler than home, but with the humidity the real feel is not far behind. Today the weather was perfect for canoeing, though. It was overcast most of the time, so we didn't get too hot. And it even waited until we got home to start raining!

Maneuvering through a small opening!

One of the times Billy & Justin got stuck! They had quite the difficulties with their canoe! Following this picture, my boat ended up getting stuck even worse because I had the camera in my hand. :)