Saturday February 24th 2024

Yesterday’s rain was in the rear view mirror today. It was a bright sunny day with a moderate west wind. The thermometer managed to creep up into the low to mid seventies. The forecast seems to indicate a few nice days to come.

I got a slow start to the day. For some reason, yesterday was a particularly tiring travel day even though it was a short distance. This morning I finished the setup chores for my stay. Inside, I dug out the coffee maker and the other conveniences stored away for travel. Outside, I took my bicycle and rack off the car, so the car was ready for touring or errands.

My first walk of the day was to the day use area on Lake Wauburg. There were more people than I expected using the area. Kids were using the playground and some families were using the pavilions for a picnic. Judging by the number of empty boat trailers in the parking lot there were a lot of people boating on the lake. Further along the shore line, several more people were fishing from the purpose built dock. There were also many other people taking advantage of the nice day to walk the trails.

Elsewhere on the lake are recreational facilities for the University of Florida. Those facilities have kayaks, paddle boards, sailboats and other things for use by students. The lake was dotted with all of those crafts today. It looks like everybody were having fun.

The water level in the lake and the marshlands around the park is higher than I remember it. Today I saw three small turtles in one of the marsh areas taking the sun. There weren’t any alligators or water birds in the marsh or the lake, but conditions looked good for them. Given that the University of Florida has a lot of activities in the lake, I wouldn’t be surprised if they actively relocate alligators.

Later in the day I drove two miles deeper into the state park to the observation tower overlooking the prairie. This area was also very busy. Despite looking for fifteen to twenty minutes from the top of the observation tower, I didn’t see any wild horses or bison. The water level on the prairie was also higher than I’ve seen. That may be why the horses and bison are not visible from the observation tower. Dry ground is further from the viewing area.