Eco-Tour (Part II)

The first week of our Eco-Tour vacation has flown by at the Beaver Hut Hotel.  It was time to travel down river to our next accommodation for the second week. We are so deep into the wilderness there is no cell phone or internet service. Guess what? I don’t miss it one bit. A week without having to answer emails and text messages from my boss and also from my mother-in-law, what a blessing!

Our kayaks and human guides arrived at the crack of dawn. We stowed our gear away in waterproof bags. We were warned to keep paws and tails out of the water. The snapping turtles grab unsuspecting critter tourists from their boats as they watch the fish pass under the boats. These human guides, they have to be so melodramatic.

We are off on the second leg our trip

The water lilies were in full bloom

This is weird. My bird guide says this fella is native to Florida and the gulf coast. I tried chatting him up, but he is the strong silent type.

Not too many places for a bird to perched out here.

A great blue heron. According to my bird guide, they eat fish, amphibians and small rodents, yikes!

I thought only us chipmunks tended gardens. This deer is tending its water garden. We had quite the chat discussing water versus dry land gardening.

Our guide told fur raising stories about “dragons” that like to swoop down and fly along the waterways looking for a snack. The poor kids were hiding below deck after these stories. I called them above deck to let them meet our fearsome “dragon” a dragonfly!

While we were having a good laugh at this bit of humor, I heard from the trees above us something saying, “Hey everyone, the party boat rental with the horderves has just arrived.” I thought what party boat, what horderves? I frantically looked around trying to find the source of pronouncement. (Can you spot the very well camouflaged great blue heron in the tree?)

After a long and dangerous journey we arrived safely at the oak tree cabin.

My wife was ecstatic about the water garden.

The kids were all excited about the water slide!

Us parents were excited about the separate kids’ suite, the smaller unit on the right.

The dock had a diving board. Here is my attempt at a back flip with double twist.