It sounds like Okeedokee, but Okefenokee, in the language of the Seminole Indian, means trembling/unsteady earth. You might guess that it refers to the swampy ground, and you'd be right. But I think it also had to do with how trembling scared they were walking though the swamp with all the alligators and poisonous snakes lurking about. Even the little 18" long alligators that the staff held in their hands have 45lbs of biting pressure and bacteria in their mouths that kills people more than the bite does.
Luckily we didn't see any wild snakes. It's not that I wouldn't have enjoyed seeing them, but in Michigan we are so comfortable with the fact that most snakes are safe that we drop our guard when we come across them. In Georgia there are 6 poisonous snakes, and they had some of them in cages. The Diamond-Back and Cane Break Rattle snakes were huge. And the herpetologist said that recently a Cotton Mouth was swimming in the water at the edge of the amphitheater. That story got better because she said a huge non-venomous King Snake darted out from under the stage and bit the Cotton Mouth behind the head...and proceeded to eat him over the next 40 minutes.
Anna was most excited to see the aligators, and see them se did. We saw a bunch of of them. They were very cool and they like to keep their distance from us. Our boat tour guide was a bit crazy though and took the boat right up to the edge where a pair of gators were sunning in the 67 degree weather. We were literally only 5 feet from them with nothing to keep them from joining us in the boat. That was exciting.
It was a bit unnerving to bring along three little morsels (I mean children) because the gators were free roaming and wild. There were actually signs placed on a tree near the handicap parking warning about the alligators. The first sign said that "alligators are dangerous," but because the creatures would come right up to the edge of the side walk (not when we were there thankfully) and hold so still people thought they were statues. Visitors, we were told, would even arguing with the park staff in disbelief. So the a second sign was added warning that the alligators are "not fake."
The boat tour guide spoke with a thick-as-molasses southern accent. He used words that I didn't even know existed. But man could he pilot that boat down the narrow waterways. He said his daddy drove boats in the swamp, and so did his granddaddy before that. He told us many a tale about his childhood, making the 30 minute boat ride last 50 minutes. What a character he was.
Joshua wanted to touch anything that he thought might be alive. The herpetologist brought out three big snakes to touch, a big King snake, a Corn snake, and a Grey Rat Snake? and Joshua wanted to get up real close. More than once she had to tell him to stop touching around the mouths because they were likely to bite him. There is a picture that I will post soon that looks like he was actually trying get his finger into the snake's mouth. This crazy kid is fearless when it comes to animals. The other two had no problems petting the snakes, but they didn't seem to have the same gusto that Josh was bursting with.
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