my trip to the bayou

This pic was taken while on the boat. Alligators come right up to it. The captain throws marshmellows and the gators go right for it. The gators are all over the place. This one is about medium sized.
This is the cypress tree that is covered in spanish moss (the geyish brown stuff hanging from it). The spanish moss is almost like a parasite and grows all over and on the cypress tree. Just about all of the cypress trees have the spanish moss all over them.
This is one of my favourite shots. When you look down the way, it's all wooded and swampy, it's almost peaceful. The picture really only tells half the story. Being there is a completely different thing.
This was really cool. The captain referred to it as "fishing". He had a chicken leg (thigh and all) on a string. He dipped it in the water and the gators almost came out of nowhere. When one of them took a bite, he just pulled it out of the water. This was a medium sized gator, almost small. He held on for dear life, that is until he fell in.....with a big splash.
This was a little lesson that was taught before we got on the boat. They actually take the time to teach you about the animals that live in the bayou and how the bayou is a source of livelihood for many people. The gator he is holding is 3 months old. I actually got to touch it. It felt almost the way I expected it to. It was a fiesty little fella after a while but it was cool because it was the first time I ever pet a gator.
There are so many animals that live in and off of the bayou. There are many people who have a job because of the bayou. Most of the people who do swamp and bayoutours, do it for fun. They have real jobs working the bayou. Mostly gator hunting and then every part of the gator is used for something. A lot of it for tourist souveniers etc.