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Message: <blockquote data-quote="David in NC" data-source="post: 3565083" data-attributes="member: 111913">Still get cold chills editing the pics!These two don't fit my primary policy for this thread of looking DIRECTLY at me (the viewer), but I can assure you that they WERE FOCUSED ON ME 100% AT THE TIME THE PICS WERE TAKEN!  :eek!:I was traveling TO the Refuge on US64 early one morning and seen the biggest gator I've seen in coastal NC in one of the blackwater canals on the side of US64.  I was traveling around 50 mph and seen him clearly (head, back, and tail) and am CERTAIN he was longer than a 6' man would be in the water, so I'm guessing 7-9 feet (?)  I slowed and made a wide U turn (I pay taxes on BOTH sides of the road...thank you very much! :-O) and went back and parked on the opposite side of the road an got out with the 7D MkII and 100-400 ISII.  I stayed at least 15 feet from the water's edge and with the guardrail between me and the water FYI.  He had already submerged but I stood around for a few minutes hoping he'd come back up.  After a few minutes I "noticed" him up against the far side of the canal with just his eyes above water (as in the pic.)  He'd probably been watching me the whole time... :eek!:The snake was crossing the main road in the Refuge and I first thought it was a swampland copperhead but in retrospect I now think it's a water moccasin.  He is looking oblique in the pic but I know he was 100% laser focused on me (and YES this is from the SAFETY of our SUV!)  :t:</blockquote>

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