After escaping from Columbia just as it began to snow, we headed south and out of the precipitation. By early afternoon, we were at Okefenokee and signed up for the 2pm boat tour. It's just above freezing, windy and overcast. Even with everything warm piece of clothing we have with us, we are still cold.
The tour travels along a canal that was dug in the late 1800s to try to drain the swamp. The company went bankrupt after several miles of constructions over several years. They were attempting to drain the water into the St Mary River. It was determined that the engineering work was faulty after the canal was well underway but they kept having to dig deeper and deeper to keep the water flowing downhill. It may seem flat when you look at it but water doesn't see it that way. When all this was realized, funding sources dried up.
Out there on the water is a Horned grebe. Our guide was quick to point it out. He had never seen one in the refuge before. It put on a show for him, buzzing the boat a couple times. We also saw a Barred Owl hiding in the Spanish moss, Belted kingfishers, Bald Eagle, Great egret, Great Blue Heron as well as a small Alligator.
On the boardwalk leading to an observation tower on Chesser prairie, we saw lots of scat. After visiting the tower and seeing Great egrets at a great distance, we headed back.
The tower offers long range views of the open prairies and swamp. While there, a couple guys excitedly showed us a Bobcat video they had just made.
During our return, we stopped in our tracks upon seeing this cat. For a great 15 minutes, we stayed about 100 feet from it. It seemed quite comfortable with us at that distance. It even began walking toward us at one point. It would walk along the boardwalk and stop to stare into the underbrush. I think this cat uses the boardwalk as its daily hunting routine. Certainly, it left considerable piles of scat.
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