Our Trip to the Okefenokee

Since we had to cancel our trip to Disney World, James and I decided that we just COULD NOT spend our Fall Break at home. After tossing a few ideas around, we decided we needed to go camping! Our last camping trip was in February 2006, and we ended up leaving early because of BITTER COLD RAIN.

We decided to camp at Laura S. Walker State Park in Waycross, GA. I've driven past signs for the park probably a thousand times, given all the trips my family made from Jacksonville to Tifton while I was growing up, but I'd never been there. The park is just a few miles from the headwaters of the Okefenokee Swamp, so we planned a visit there, too.

We stopped in Tifton on the way to Waycross for our niece Samantha's first birthday. We were having so much fun watching the GA-TN game that we left later than we wanted. This meant it was after dark by the time we checked into the park. It was also raining. Heh. Luckily the rain was mostly a drizzle, and it wasn't constant. We had everything unpacked and set up within an hour, and we tucked in for the night.

Here's our camp. Doesn't it look homey??


Anyone who knows me knows that I don't "do" primitive camping. I want running water and preferably a flushing toilet. Ideally there would also be a shower somewhere close by, too. It's just not my idea of a good time to worry about digging myself a hole in the woods in order to take care of business. ;) Laura S. Walker is a really pretty park, located right on Lake Laura Walker. It also has very nice bathhouses, complete with flushing toilets and showers! Two thumbs up!


Mmmm...Bacon.


I realized as I was cooking breakfast we didn't have any forks in our camp box. We had spoons, though. It was easier to eat our pancakes with our hands.


After cleaning up from breakfast and heading to the showers, we left for Okefenokee Swamp Park. This is a private, not-for-profit park located within the National Wildlife Refuge. It's seriously cool.


The park itself is basically in the swamp. It's not like walking into a zoo where the animals are in cages or behind fences. You're on their territory. Luckily the park has placed helpful signs all over the place to remind you of that fact.


The first thing we did was take an hour long boat trip deeper into the swamp. Again, seriously cool.




Our boat was about five feet across, and for most of the trip, the swamp lanes weren't much wider than that. Since I was in one of the outside seats, I got whacked in the head by tree branches more than once.

We saw loads of spiders, huge vultures


an alligator nest


and, oh yes, an alligator or two.

(Notice the white part at the bottom of the picture? That's the edge of our boat. I was about three feet away from that guy.)









After the boat trip, we took a train tour. Part of the tour included a stop on Pioneer Island, which was the "living history" part of the park.






After the train tour, we got up close and personal with some of Georgia's native creatures.











All of this took about five hours, so we headed back to camp for a late lunch/early dinner. We then discovered we had also neglected to buy any charcoal, so we really did have to cook over the fire. But it was still pretty tasty.



After dinner, the girls and I went up to the park office for what we thought was an evening nature watch. Turns out it was the highlight event of a Bird Watching Conference that started over in Jekyll Island earlier in the weekend and then culminated in this little adventure we were about to embark on.

We drove a few miles to the other side of the lake, through the woods and ended up on this observation deck that jutted out over the water. There were telescopes set up and everything! There was group of about 15 other people with us, and they were serious birdies- High powered binoculars, tapes of bird calls, dressed like they were going on an African safari. Luckily they were also all very nice, and more than happy to share their equipment with the girls and myself.

We spent an hour spotting various birds, which was really cool. Then when it got dark, the real fun began! We broke out the flashlights and starting spotting alligators! When you shine a light over the water, their eyes reflect like little red lights. I told the girls it was like spotting for Voldemort. We saw several pairs of eyes, much to our delight.

After another hour or so, the girls and I headed back to camp. We were exhausted, so we showered and called it a night.

About 4 am, James and I woke up to the sound of torrential rain. I then rolled over into a huge puddle. Our tent had started to leak! We debated whether or not to try and pack it all in and hit the road, or take our chances and wait it out till morning. We decided to wait it out. As soon as it was light out, we packed up and hit the road for home.

So now it's back to school and work tomorrow. Wish we had another day or two, but Thanksgiving Break will be here before we know it!