Merchants Millpond State Park

[jim65wagon]

Our first trip of the year! The CrowsWing got loaded with delicious food and drinks, and the CrowsTow (aka Queen Elizabeths Revenge) got loaded up with Kayaks, float gear and extra equipment needed for our daughter to camp along with us.


This year (as was last year) the goal was to find the alligators that call the Millpond home. Last year we invited friends along, most of them bailed due to a tremendous rainstorm. We stayed an extra day and saw one Gator. Of course, convincing some people with a simple photograph of an alligator isn't really that easy - "that's photoshopped", or "that's from the visitor center postcard rack" is the fallback of the skeptics.

Merchants Millpond State Park is the furthest known northern range of the American Alligator. This 760 acre pond has a beautiful and varied ecology ranging from Cypress swamp to upland forest. While it is not an off road adventure in the strictest sense, it is an adventure none the less. If you, dear reader, get the chance to visit, you should. This is one of the best places in the East.

Our first day was Saturday April 25th. We arrived early, around 9:30, our reservation officially started at 3PM, but our space was empty and we set up camp. Awnings, Kelty Tarp, Gazebo, and Maddy's tent were all deployed before the rain started. Yes, rain. Just like last year. Our friends were already set up and just getting back from their initial foray into the Cypress.







After a nice lunch of smoked turkey sandwiches, we hauled kayaks over to the launch and floated in the rain with Jay and Sam.











Spanish moss can take some odd shapes sometime. This one reminds me of a ghost from Scooby Doo


I'll hit you up with highlights from Sunday (rain) and Monday (not rain) later.....

 

[matthewp]

Very nice!

 

[mtnbike28]

Once again, rain and no alligators for me (funny how they show up after I leave)
But a couple of pics from me.



As advertised: Rain, but the Kelty Noah Tarp over the new to me, SLO fly and ARB awning on the back, we were nice and dry.

 

[jim65wagon]

Glad you stayed dry through that storm Saturday night. After so much rain it was amazing to have anything dry. Those Kelty tarps are awesome when set up correctly. Our kitchen area stayed nice and dry throughout the rain.

On Sunday almost everyone else had to pack up and head to their respective homes. We watched everyone (except for one other couple) and said our goodbyes. We (Beth, Maddy and I) along with Jim and Jamie (who camp in a sweet Camp Inn teardrop) decided to float Bennetts Creek down to Gatesville. It's about a 6 mile float that begins in a cypress swamp and transitions to upland forest. It's a nice easy float as long as you're not looking for rapids and you don't mind paddling to get where you're going.







The float was quiet and beautiful. There were no Alligators to be seen, but we saw lots of wildlife. The first of which was this owl. She sat in this tree about 20 feet away from the bank. Her head was on a swivel as she surveyed the ground below her. I believe she was hunting for the meal she was unable to get during Saturday nights storm.



At one point she spooked and flew a little farther away, but not so far we couldn't still watch and photograph her







I really like the Canon SX50. It doesn't have the adjustability of the old (RIP) G9, but the super zoom on its lens is amazing. This buzzard was way way up in a tree.









We were floating along, me bringing up in sweep, as we rounded a corner and started through a wide pool, from behind us we heard "!KaSploosh! It sounded like someone through a boulder into the creek. We all turned around and saw



Three beavers were tail splashing, we apparently made them a little angry and they were warning us away.

Birds were everywhere




The adventure for the day ended and we returned to our campsite for a nice fire, while the bugs enjoyed watching Beth make us a wonderful turtle pot pie for our supper









After the wonderful float and excellent meal it was time to retire to the CrowsWing for the night. Tomorrow (Monday) promised no rain and sunshine. You know what that means Jay?




Alligators

 

[huachuca]

Enjoyed the report and the photos, thanks for posting. We live 75 miles southwest of the Park, visit there a couple of times each year and have seen the gators a half dozen or so times. Our first encounter was quite a surprise as I had no idea they ranged that far north. Most of our sightings have occurred between the rental dock and the boat camping area rather than in the more remote sections of the pond. The largest I've seen was about half the length of my old Grumman.

I think I know where we may be heading this weekend.

 

[jim65wagon]

Let me begin with an apology. I really intended to finish this the day after my last post but I got busy, and life got in the way. Sorry, as they say up North.

Monday dawned bright and sunny and warm. Such a change from the weekend. Madeline, Elizabeth and I ate a quick breakfast of coffee and bagels and hauled our kayaks over to the millpond meeting Jim and Jamie in the parking lot as they unloaded their canoe.

We all slipped into the water and began our paddle, keeping our eyes peeled for those large reptiles that can be so difficult to see.




We paddled quietly through the cypress, agreeing to keep each other in sight. The geese were everywhere and obnoxiously loud.




I came across this beautiful reptile while watching for the larger ones with four legs and big teeth

IMG_3633 by James Hays, on Flickr

....and the turtles were everywhere. These guys are skittish! You'd think something large and in charge was trying to eat them around every corner!


Elizabeth spotted him first. She waved our friends over, and whistled for Madeline and I ( I was trying to get her away from trying to outwait an otter she saw briefly ) , we caught up with everyone and there he was.



We let Maddy get as close as she dared



Our friends took their ritual "Socko the Monkey" pictures for their grandkids


He floated in the duckweed so long it left a demarcation on his face when he climbed out of the water



We watched and photographed for quite some time. He moved once with a sound like a leather jacket creaking. Then he just laid there soaking up the sun. We decided to leave in search of the other 4 lizards.

We found turtles on a very gator like log


beautiful flowers


Madeline, during an attempt to beach her kayak, saw this nearby. Smaller than the first but when they are swimming near your kayak they look menacing.


We watched this one swim around for a while, then decided to go eat lunch, after which it was back to gator hunting. We went straight to where we saw the first one. I tried to get some better photographs while the others watched from a distance.








We got bored watching him doing nothing and went in search for other more active life. We found it in this immature eagle




A gosling that was an egg the day before


and this heron that gave me one chance to capture its image


We were exploring the coves, Madeline and I were together watching in the duckweed for anything moving when I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. The first picture I got was this beasty already sliding into the water





He swam straight at us, causing some momentary lapse in photography. Some rapid back paddling ensued, and between the pulse pounding in my head and the hysterical laughter from my daughter and myself I was able to snap a few more photos.







It was quite a wonderful (albeit short) vacation. We had such a grand time finding those elusive creatures. Merchants Millpond is one of the beautiful shiny spots in our country.




Now, anyone can go see for themselves, but if you go and don't see any alligators because the weather didn't cooperate, the gift shop has this wonderful postcard available.