Bigfoot and artifacts

Kevin filming the gator

The river we were following along was clear and wild. The brush was thick and we had to forge our way through. I was thinking not many on land had been in this area. The water was so clear Kevin said that if it was not cold, he would go for a swim. He saw something that changed his mind. A large gator loomed nearby. It was also in a strange place. We had stumbled upon something very interesting.

We came upon the remains of an old logging camp. Logging of giant cypress trees in Florida reached it heyday in the 1920's. Most of the houses built in that era were made of that wood. If you ever watch the TV show "Axe Men" you know how much money is paid for trees. In Florida the Great Cypress trees were hundreds of feet in the air. They were known as "Florida's Redwoods." It was a crime to decimate their ranks as they did. When they were done, they packed up and left.

A strange looking gator

We found an old bulkhead and large chains still attached to trees up above (that is how they lifted them up to place the cypress on a rail line that had been put down through the Green Swamp of Florida. I have no idea how these guys survived during such a primitive time. George even found what was left of a low-tech latrine that was rather sophisticated for that time period.

George watching from the bank

The gator was just off the bulkhead or seawall they had created for a couple of hundred feet to pull the trees into after they were floated down stream. If you came down that creek by canoe, you would certainly run into guys like that gator. Be warned. This is not a very safe place. You can get hurt and or bit by snakes and bugs (like I was). When we got out of there, I was beat. I crashed as soon as I got home from hours of hiking. Don't get me wrong, this was fun and I would chose to do this no matter what.