Eyes Wide Open!

While it is always my goal to capture wildlife footage through the lens of my cameras on the trail, there always seems to be that surprising moment that I don't quite expect.  Though I'm prepared and ready, often times I find that I'm not as prepared as I thought.  Such was the case on the Little River Trail at Reed Bingham State Park in South Georgia yesterday.  Having stopped at a couple of observation platforms along the river to get a few shots (hopefully of a gator or two), I had come up empty.  Further on down the trail, however, I happened to glance through the thick brush towards the river as the trail snaked along beside it and to my surprise:

there they were!  Two gators basking in the warmth of the sun about 200-300 yards from me.  From my initial vantage point, I knew I was too far for my pics to turn out, so I found myself having to trek through a bit of thick brush and swamp to get as close to the river's edge as possible.  With every step through those woods, my heart raced with a mixture of fear, adrenaline, and excitement.  I was constantly aware of my surroundings.  Surprisingly (and thankfully), I didn't happen upon any snakes or gators on my side of the river, thus affording me these shots.  Not as close up as I wanted, but close enough for comfort's sake.

I'll be posting a full review of my day at Reed Bingham State Park soon, but in the meantime, I wanted to share one of the awesome bits of scenery from Life Outside My Door!