Monday February 26th 2024

The trend of sunny days with highs in the seventies continued today. The peak temperature climbed a couple of degrees to the mid seventies. The forecast for the next couple of days calls for similar weather with daily increases in the high temperature.

My day followed a similar pattern as the last couple of days, but I added a twist. After visiting the observation tower overlooking the prairie I ventured out of this area of the park to a couple of the park areas along US route 441. After which I managed to get caught up in rush hour traffic in downtown Gainesville. It all came from trying to reverse direction without simply making a U-turn. I knew that Interstate 75 was to the west, but I didn’t think about downtown Gainesville being in the way. The city has the elements of a typical college town and a busy city. In addition to a lot of tall buildings and businesses, there were many people walking around, riding bicycles and scooters and motor bikes and motorcycles. I looped around a block and headed back the way I came before I got into the traffic on the University of Florida campus.

My stop at the prairie viewing area along the side of US 441 helped me find some of the water birds I haven’t been finding on my other adventures in the park. There were Egrets, several Anhingas and a Great Blue Heron that might have thought it was an Anhinga. The bird was spreading its wings to allow them to dry just like an Anhinga.

Walking to the day use area this morning, I was surprised to find the area still busy. I expected the weekend crowds would have gone back to work and school. It was a little less populated, but it was still more occupied than I have seen in the middle of the week on previous visits. The campground also has a different usage pattern than I’ve come to expect. There seems to be a lot of single night stays. In the evening the park is full and active. By noon the next day, over half the sites seem to be vacant. Even the tent sites follow the same pattern.

On today’s visit to the observation tower at the visitors center along the side of the prairie, I found the wild horses in a different location. They were still a long way from the observation area. I didn’t venture out onto the prairie today. My next venture out needs to be planned, so that I have everything I need, especially water.