Paddling the Iche

We kayaked the Ichetucknee (pronounced 'Itch a tuck nee') River today, against the current upstream for 6 miles and then lazily floated back. This is a very popular tubing river with it's 72F crystal clear water and the abundant wildlife one can see along the way. There were quite a few 'tubers' on the river today, we could tell that they were enjoying themselves and no doubt appreciating the cool water since the air temp was around 94F! Top photo is of a very large and old Bald Cypress tree along the river with it's 'cypress knees' surrounding it. These 'knees' were once thought to help bring oxygen to the Cypress Tree but now updated research indicates that their purpose is to help with support and stability and most likely have nothing to do with oxygenating the tree. The bottom image is of a hitchhiking Dragon Fly. She rode with us for quite a while before disembarking! It was a Beautiful day! :)