Wanna hear a fact that will cause your arm hairs to stand at attention? In the state of Florida there is one alligator for every nine people. Seriously, 1 per 9. Remind me again why tourists flock to the Sunshine State?
Yes, me and the nature lovin' littles spent day two of our vacay at Gatorland hanging with a couple thousand armored reptiles.
Most of the time I just saw the back of two little heads squeezed between the railings of the tiny barrier between us and the gators fencing. Little minds in awe.
It was hard not to be when this is the first thing you saw after signing a safety waiver strapping on your Gatorland armband.
The place was teeming with sharp-toothed gators. Once you get yourself past the fact that all that is between you and gator city is a wooden boardwalk, you relax and take in the rare and spectacular view.
Just as striking as the gators, are the birds. Thousands of heron and egrets come to Gatorland each year to birth their young. Alligators protect the birds from the typical predators, and have even been seen holding baby birds safely in their mouths. It is an unusual and fascinating friendship.
We happened to be in the park at the perfect time. In every tree there was a momma bird and her young. In many cases little blue eggs were cracking open just feet away. Life happened right before our eyes.
Our map reader helped us maintain our location at all times. Despite a few sweaty, begging to hit the Gatorland splash pad melt downs, we had an intensely memorable day.
Our girls got to walk among one of nature's most amazing animals.
Three crazy brave thumbs up!
Surely we should get some sorta' Girl Scout badge.
6 comments:
So cool!!! jen
what a great trip. I love how you find nature things for the littles to do. You are a great momma:)
Too fun! Madeline has a million badges, so we could probably come up with two for ya :-)
So glad you had a wonderful time!
Oh wow - these pictures remind me so much of when I was a kid. I lived in Miami until I was 13. Whenever we had a school field trip, it was usually to the Everglades. I've seen my fair share of heron, egrets and alligators. Love these!
So Fun! It looks like a resort for rich alligators!
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