Savannah Wildlife Refuge

We had so many pictures from our wildlife trip that I thought it prudent to make a second album.  Jane spotted this Wildlife Refuge on a map and we quickly decided that it would be a perfect end to our stay in Savannah.  Little did we expect how cool it would really be.  The refuge featured this 3 mile driving trail through part of its wilderness, as a way to allow more visitors to get closer to the wildlife.  There weren't many other people / cars out when we went, so it truly made for a pristine / serene journey.  Jane's main goal was to try and see an alligator... did we succeed?? I think the pictures below speak for themselves...

Lots of Spanish moss hanging from the tress and plant life pressing in on the trail from all sides made this truly a cool trail to drive down; it was easy to feel like you were miles away from any sort of civilization at all.

Much of the wildlife seemed to accept our presence without being bothered too much by us, like these beautiful white waterfowl who entirely filled the branches of these trees; as we drove by, one too many landed on a branch and broke the entire branch off... I couldn't stop laughing as all the birds on the branch flapped around trying to figure out what happened. 

If you look closely you can see the hawk in the barren tree on the left side of the picture; if you look less closely, you can appreciate the natural beauty of the area.  

Ahh, there's that raptor in the tree.  We probably disturbed the vermin it was hunting. 

Much of the land of the Wildlife Refuge was flooded and divided off by land bridges into controllable wetland habitats which they could flood / drain as the need arose.

About halfway through, Jane spotted our first alligator!!  It was a baby little alligator, maybe two feet long, lying still like a branch.  Mission complete! 

Little did we suspect that we'd soon find a much larger alligator waiting for us!   I think it was trying to take a nap and since its head was buried in the reeds, it thought that it was completely hidden.  As you can see, it didn't do a very good job of hiding.  

Probably the most beautiful picture from our time at the preserve.  I love how the sky reflects in the just-flooded-enough land, with little plants poking up everywhere.

There's truly an abundance of natural beauty surrounding us, and we ought to make it more of a priority to seek out such natural beauty in our lives, to remind us that the world is beautiful and God is good.