We had temperatures in the 70s, with blue skies and no wind. It was a perfect day to be on the water, as we looked ahead at the first bridge we would paddle under to get to the open lake.
The water is perfectly still, mirroring the trees around it. This is Steinhagen Lake, and this northern section has lots of great peninsulas and watery alley-ways that are fun to explore in a kayak. We were the only ones on the water here this weekday morning, and we were hunting for an eagle nest in the trees on this side of the lake. The ranger had told us that the baby eagles had just hatched, and we were hoping to spot the parents taking care of them.
We were looking up in the trees, and Denisa thought these blue herons were simply lovely. We saw most of them on the ground, fishing in the shallow water. But this blue boy flew to the top of this tree that is just budding out.
Because we were so intent on looking for the eagles, we almost missed what was happening down at water level. Mark heard a big splash, and we looked to see this big boy that was making the noise at the edge of the water.
We only got one picture of him in the grass, before he slid into the water. You can see his eyes just above the water as he slides into the lake with us. Those eyes at the top of the water are the way that alligators swim, and we will see that several more times today. Denisa would prefer paddling in the opposite direction now, but Mark was interested in trying to get a better look at that gator. It's times like this that Denisa wishes we were in two separate kayaks instead of being together in one.
We were having a great time exploring the narrow inlets of water. Even though we are on a large lake, we often have land and trees on both sides of us through the narrow lanes.
Because we are all alone out here, there is no boating noise to scare off the wildlife. With our silent kayak, we are able to sneak up on birds like this great white heron.
We also sidled up next to these curious-looking birds, with their red beaks and legs. This is a white ibis.
Their adult plumage is white, with black tips under their wings when they fly. The ones on the right are youngsters that haven't yet molted from their brown feathers into white.
It was about this time that we saw a couple eyes at the top of the water. No pictures, as they were tiny because they were some distance away, but we could see them clearly with our binoculars. We spotted three different alligators cruising the lake water with us. Denisa was happy to watch those eye-balls through the binoculars, rather than up close. That brought our count of alligator sightings up to four for the day. Meanwhile, an entire flock of ibis had moved into the trees on this neck of the lake.
When something startled them, they all took off. It was grand to see and hear the whoosh of their wings right above us.
That's when we were startled as well. We heard a noise that at first sounded almost like someone trying to pull-start a boat engine. We hadn't seen another boat all day, so we looked around quickly. No boats. Then it happened again . . . and again. . . and again. . . We finally figured out that it was a guttural roar of something big--very big. We heard it eight different times, and of course Mark started rowing us in that direction. (We're really going to have to ditch this two-man canoe!) We never did see the big boy, but we later researched it. It was certainly the roar of an alligator, probably protecting his territory. While we were on the water, we felt as if we were hearing something akin to the roar of a lion. We had wandered into another of God's wonders--the territory of the king of the lake.
By this time, we had been on the water for three hours. So we headed back towards the state park grounds for a bathroom break and a little time to stretch our legs. Then we started back into the water, now on the designated paddling trail. White poles are planted at crossroads, to guide us through the maze of waterways. But we found that the increased boat traffic also meant there was less wildlife here.
In fact, we were most of the way through the paddling trail before we saw our first wildlife--a couple turkey vultures sitting on a log. As we got closer, we noticed they were eating something. As we sidled still closer we saw they were eating what they were sitting on, and it wasn't a log at all. As the vultures took to the air, we saw the dead alligator that they were cleaning up. It didn't look like the big gator had been dead for long. Even though he is dead, we're counting this as our fifth alligator sighting of the day.
The next part of our kayak trip took us out to the main body of Lake Steinhagen. We are hugging the shoreline, hoping to see more wildlife. Those are cypress trees in the water, quite content to have their feet wet.
Those cypress tree trunks look like elephant feet in the shallow water of the lake.
Some of the cypress trees are starting to green up. We see the light green needles of this cypress up close while trying to get a picture of this adolescent ibis.
The last leg of our kayaking journey takes us up Walnut Slough. Have we mentioned what beautiful weather we are enjoying? With no wind, the water is completely still, reflecting the blue sky and trees around us. We have totally wandered into another of God's wonders today.
The slough got increasingly narrow as we follow it inland. At some points, we have to kayak between the cypress trees that try to block our way.
We've been in the kayak over five hours by now, and we're very glad to have such comfortable seats. We're also very glad to have such beautiful reflections around us. This looks like a great place for more wildlife sightings, but we see no alligators or even birds in the slough this afternoon.
There is, however, plenty of plant life. These bright green plants look lovely, and perfectly harmless in small groups.
But they are growing out of control in solid masses in some lakes in the area. We can see that they not only cover the top, but their dense root structures can totally suffocate any natural animal or plant life. It can also make it impossible for two people in a kayak to cross. So we were very lucky that a motor boat gunned his engine and tore his way through the mass ahead of us, so we could get through behind him.
Far in the distance, we can see the bridge where we started the adventure this morning. It was good to be back! But we decided to paddle back under the bridge, still hoping to spot the eagle parents this evening. Again, we were looking up in the trees when we heard a mighty splash. No pictures because it all happened so quickly, but we both turned in time to see the biggest alligator of the day. He was startled by our approach, and he rolled out of his resting place into the water with us. We've never experienced how fast a startled alligator can move, but we estimate he went 30 yards in just two seconds. We're just glad that he traveled away from, instead of towards us with that kind of speed. We had just experienced alligator number six of the day. It was a grand finale for sure!
We moved quickly away from that area! After our heart rates came down, we watched with our binoculars as that big alligator moved along the shore of the lake. Mark estimated he was 10-12 feet long, while Denisa was thinking 30-40 feet long.
It was hard to call it a day, but after six hours, it was time to get off the water. We never did see those dang eagles, but looking for them brought us close to six different alligators, and lots of beautiful places. We dried off the kayak and got it stored back in the car, then made our way back to our campsite for our final sunset.
Mark stayed in the motor home, taking this picture of Denisa's silhouette watching the sun setting over the lake. We treasure moments like this, and we are blessed with days chasing gators.
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