It was a pretty cool place, though we only stayed about 45 minutes due to time constraints. Olivia brought binoculars, water bottle, and sunglasses. I won't mention who carried them most of the time, but it was the same person who carried the camera and was wise enough to leave her water-bottle in the car for such a short stay.
So anyway. Our first introduction to the park was a bridge spanning a large creek that was packed with turtles and catfish!
Having been forewarned by our neighbor Terri, we had brought a bag of dog food to feed the creatures. Much to their delight. Then, true to our genetics, Olivia and I somehow dropped the almost-full bag of dog food into the creek, also much to their delight.
This picture was actually taken several minutes AFTER the bag fell in and AFTER my hair-raising failed attempts to rescue it from the river by standing on a very steep riverbank with a very long stick. (Let's just say it was a little nerve-wracking and more than once I pictured myself plummeting down the bank into the river and having to explain to what happened to Ben.)
After giving up on the turtles and catfish, we walked on to the visitor's center, where they had a bin of walking sticks that you could borrow for your hike. Olivia decided she didn't have enough to carry and desperately needed one of those as well. I had a little more foresight and passed on the stick.
Because our time was short, we only walked as far as the observation tower a few minutes away, where we had a nice rest and just enjoyed the scenery and shade.
Well, I guess some of us enjoyed it more than others. But it was nice, all the same. We then headed back to the visitor's center to drop off the hiking stick, then started to cross the bridge again on the way back to the parking lot. White crossing we stopped and chatted with a photographer who taking pictures of the turtles. She started telling us about the different kinds of turtles (something I'm totally ignorant about) and then it happened.
I happened to glance over on the opposite side of the bridge, and there he was. The grand-daddy of them all...
To give you an idea of his size, keep in mind that the smaller turtle on the left has a shell that is about 12-inches long. The other fella never really surfaced all the way, but what a massive head! I've never seen a turtle this big! Tortoises at the zoo, maybe, but a river turtle?
Guess I should have brought more dog food.
1 comment:
Those fish look more carpish than catfish. ARGH! See what happens when your husband and son fish? By the way, did mom tell you that Jared caught a 35 lb catfish? Yep, it was as big as he is.
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