Santee State Park or Gator Hunting

Well, warmer weather is here and you know
what that means for my husband and I...
Nature Trips and Kayaking.
If that bores you or just doesn't interest you - stop reading here.
But if you enjoy living vicariously through someone else's adventures
or you love nature
or you love kayaking
or you love alligators -
Read On!

Here is one photo for you stitchers out there that always looking for patterns on things.
This is a photo of the under side of the roof on an activity building
at Santee State Park in Santee SC.
It has several nests (Martin's) in the corners of the timbers.
The birds were sitting on side timbers
watching us as we snapped pictures and watched them.

We saw so much wildlife at the park, it was unbelievable!
A lot of deers...
Big deers, tiny deers
deers with big racks (antler, that is...)
Here's a night shot where a "family" was going back to their tent...
mom, dad and three kids.
Look at them...going in through the "Do Not Enter" road!
Some animals just don't follow rules well.

Even the sky was beautiful! This was shot on the way out of the Santee Wildlife Refuge.

What an Awesome place to visit if you love observing wildlife and nature!

We were in the "Cuddo Unit".

They have a "Wildlife Drive" that has an accompanying Interpretive Guide with it.

As you drive along (it is a 7.5 mile road), you will pass numbered signs that you reference in the guide. It gives great information about the area that you're in or about the animals that you will likely see.

The guide did mention we might see Wild Turkeys.

It didn't say that they would jump out on the road in front of us, running 20 miles per hour as we lagged behind.

Nor did it mention that the original three turkeys would be joined by three more of their friends.

And run for about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile before jumping off the side of the road.

We didn't follow them the entire time. We stopped and just watched them continue to run.

It must have been a neighborhood jog night.

The first day that we were there we went for a short kayak trip in Lake Marion.

We wanted to take a peek at the cypress forest that stands in the middle of the lake.

According to the park brochure "Lake Marion is a 110,00 acre lake that is more shallow, full of stumps and trees (including a deciduous cypress forest gracing the middle of the lake across from the park) and is adjacent to thousands of acres of pristine, secluded wetlands and forest."

I'll post photos of that, along with the up close interaction with several alligators we met...

How close? you ask.

Very close...

Camping at Lake Jocasse

Imagine being surrounded by a beautiful view like this...

every side, every direction that you look you see these beautiful rolling mountains...

sparkling clear water...

leaves bursting with color...

loons diving for fish...

otters rolling around the water...

sea gulls,

scuba divers...

wait...scuba divers...?

Yep, another favorite spot for the local scuba divers is Lake Jocasse...

did I mention how deep this lake is? How great the under water visibility is?

We did see all of the above items...

the otters were definitely the cutest...

they were just as interested in us as we were in them!

Anyway, here are a couple or three pictures.

We were so busy enjoying the scenery that we didn't take many pictures...

Another excuse to go back now...

My husband had the camera all day...

his view of things...

Can you see the loons in this picture?

(ha ha-not the one above this comment...it's the next one silly!)

We couldn't get too close to them without scaring them away.

The next pictures were taken at the camp site.

I noticed this wonderful fungal growth (or mushrooms?) on the side of a tree and had to take a picture of it.

Then I noticed the hole in the tree under it...

it had an acorn tucked inside of it!

Isn't that cool?!

This friendly fellow was creeping around the camp site...

trying to camouflage himself on the neighboring leaf...

I looked in Wikipedia but couldn't find an exact entry of this bug. If you know the name of it, please feel free to add a comment with it.

Oh, and sorry for the blurred picture...

We were camped beside a cute couple from Lexington SC, Johnathan and Shelise.

He is in the military and she is a dental hygienist.

They sat by the fire with us Saturday night into the wee hours of the morning, laughing and talking.

And graciously accepted our invitation to breakfast the next morning.

Isn't it great to meet and make friends every where you go?

Everyone Has a Sense of Humor...

Even Mother Nature...

This deserves another look...

Can you believe this picture! My husband and I went kayaking at Lake Jocasse this weekend and saw this awesome site along one of the banks there. Jocasse is a 7,500 acre man made lake in upstate SC. There is a ton of documentation about the area before the lake was made, as well as a book or two.

It was breath taking there! The leaves were just beginning to change their colors in the higher elevations but at the boat ramps they were a riot of bold, brassy colors. The red was so bright that it almost leapt from the leaves...hitting you in the face as you looked. Yellow, gold, red, orange, maroon, brown...so many beautiful colors were there.

The water level was up considerably from the last time that we were there, but over-all it is still lower than usual. Normally the water is documented at 300 feet deep...wow...no wonder the scuba divers love this place, but this weekend it was a little less than that...maybe down 8 to 18 feet...? Not sure but you can tell by looking at the water line on the shore it's down a good bit.

We did a little fishing one evening...not much luck there but my dh did manage to "catch" a lost fishing lure...man! Why is it that the ONE time you wish you had your camera, you left it back at the ranch, er camper?! My dabh (and and brave husband) (more likely darsh-dear and ridiculously silly husband) got down to his birthday suit (YES!) in the cold, cold water to retrieve a $4.00 fishing lure...FOUR DOLLARS...!

It was a very entertaining weekend people...

never a dull moment with the two of us together!

We camped there the weekend, in a very comfortable RV (thanks Terry & Sandra!) at the Devil's Fork State Park.

We slept under a queen sized quilt that I made from one of the BOM Thimbleberry patterns...the only bed size quilt I have ever made. Considering the temperature was down in to the lower 40's, the quilt came in handy...I'm just thankful we were in the RV and not a tent...I don't think that my hip/back could weather those conditions.

Have I ever mentioned that my husband is an AWESOME cook? This weekend we ate like royalty. We had homemade chicken/sausage chili, topped with sour cream and cheese, a small side salad with fresh greens, red peppers and tomatoes from our garden and a glass of chilled red wine. Ymmm...Clear, cold night with an abundance of bright stars and shining moon light.

On Saturday, after a day long kayaking trip, we had thick & tender New York Strip steak cooked to perfection over the camp fire...almost like a blackened steak, it had crispy edges yet the inside was so tender that it just melted in your mouth. A heaping helping of steamed shrimp to go along with the steak, then add a steaming baked potato with sour cream & cheese, another luscious garden side salad. Wash it all down with a dry red wine and what do you have...?

Our camping dinner...

oh, desert...

blueberry cream pie ice cream...ymmmmm...

And I keep saying that the 5 pounds I gained came from the hormones that I started taking...

yeah, right.