The Suwannee River flows for more than 200 miles from the swamps of southern Georgia to the heart of Florida's Nature Coast where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico. I've not hiked too much of the 1,000 mile Florida National Scenic Trail, but I've heard rumors that one of the most beautiful segments is a 50 mile portion  that hugs the Suwannee River starting at Stephen Foster State Park. From atop the Suwannee's high banks, the well-marked trail intimately follows the river, offering stunning views of its meandering course.  Side by side they wind through floodplain swamps and palmetto scrub. My good friend, and fellow photographer, John Moran, celebrated his birthday on this part of the Florida Trail within sight of the Suwannee.  Along with a handful of John's friends, we laughed and told stories over games of horse shoes and a dinner fit for a king. The images below show only a tiny segment of the trail. I captured them the morning after a hard rain the day before.