When we got there, you can imagine how relieved I was to see about a dozen people (mothers, fathers, and kids) collecting fossils in the river. For whatever reason, there seemed to be no gators in this part of the river. We got out of the car and scouted the area. The first thing we saw was a 7 or 8 foot alligator lying on the opposite bank. Mike and I had a tense conversation re: the size of the reptile, its distance from us, whether or not we were already in trouble, and what in the world the people were doing chest deep in the water a total of maybe 150 feet away.