Spending the Day at Turkey Creek

Recently a friend of ours took us kayaking down a little river called Turkey Creek, and I was really blown away by the beauty. The water was crystal clear with a white sandy bottom and thick, stringy water grass along the edges of the bank. It was about 90 degrees out, so the cool water became refreshing. With the accompaniment of a breeze, we were able to paddle in comfort. Apart from a few soda cans, a deflated inner tube, and some cut trees, the area seemed untouched by man.

We planned for the trip to be somewhere between three and a half to four hours long, so we packed a lunch to eat along the way. The current was going around five miles per hour, so there wasn't much paddling to be done except to steer around the bends in the river. It was pretty relaxing. There were quite a few fish and whirligig bugs. The whirligigs reminded us of our home back in the tribe because we often collected them there.

All of us kept a close eye out for alligators, but thankfully none were sighted. Turkey Creek is the perfect habitat for the large reptiles. There is an abundance of sunlight and food, such as fish, and many woodland creatures that come and drink at the creek.

We arrived at a little sandy beach, which was formed by a very small mound of trees and shrub with the water branching around it. We had lunch there, took a break for a while, and cooled our feet in the water.

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Morgan wandered off a little ways into the woods. The next thing we knew, Morgan came bursting from the bushes and leaped into the water with a splash. For all of us standing around, we thought Morgan must have disturbed a nest of bees, but he told us it was a snake, and the loud noise we were hearing was the rattle of a rattlesnake. Apparently when he was coming back, he startled the snake, which was perfectly camouflaged among some dead leaves. We crept up the trail to get a better look and were impressed at the size of the large eastern diamondback. The snake, seeing us approach, slithered to the base of a tree, and coiled himself up, ready to strike if threatened.

We left him alone, but he continued rattling for another 20 minutes or so until we resumed our expedition. On the last leg of the journey, we entered into a darker and more dismal atmosphere where the trees became dense and the terrain swampy. Many trees hung over the creek and blocked out the happy rays of sunshine. Every five feet there was a spider with its web stretching across our path and whoever was in the lead had to duck under the webs or clear a path for the rest by plowing through them.

Eventually we came to the end of trip. We pulled our kayaks out of the water, lashed them to the truck bed, and headed home. Turkey Creek is a beautiful part of creation I didn't know existed here in Florida, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. We should always be very thankful and give glory to God for all the amazing things that He has created for us. God is totally self-sufficient and needs nothing or no one, so all the varieties of foods, animals, insects, plants, and everything else was made for our pleasure and enjoyment. What an awesome, loving God we have!