Okefenokee Swamp

I've named my blog "Road Trip!" because its the road trips I take that lead to the photographs that I want to share. In April 2011, I went on a road trip to the Okefenokee Swamp with friends, Doug and Beth Powell. Doug is a fellow photographer who shares my sense of adventure and love of nature. The Okefenokee was an adventure that everyone should experience.
We first visited the East side of the swamp that is a National Wildlife Refuge. Morning light revealed a golden prairie and alligators were numerous in the canal! Flora included water lilies, ferns and pitcher plants. We had been told that the pitcher plant was prevalent throughout the swamp, but the pitcher plant was illusive until we discovered a clump of them at the side of the road. The 1928 homestead of "swampers" revealed a former way of life and handcrafted quilts. An evening guided boat tour gave us another view of the swamp, native plants, native birds and lots more gators!
The West side of the swamp is devastated by drought and many areas were not accessible because of low water levels. However, the waterlily ponds leading to the entrance into the park were numerous and full of blooms. Two weeks after we visited the Okefenokee, lightning struck the swamp and started a fire which burned over 400,000 acres. Hopefully, the photos we took are a document of how the swamp looked before the fire.