Monday March 4th 2024

Today was the sunny day between rainy days. The temperature climbed into the upper seventies under a bright blue sky. Tomorrow the rain is expected to return.

The wild horses were also back in view from the observation tower on the edge of the prairie. They weren’t visible on my last visit to the observation tower. Today they were split up a little. On my previous visits I the horses have been in a group of seven. This time around the main group had only four horses. A single horse was a good distance off to the right and the other two were not visible. I’m not sure what the social structure of the horses is all about or if there is more than one group of horses. I should stop at the visitors center and ask a few questions. It has been a few visits since I was in the center. It seems to be open more this year.

On my walk to the day use area before sunset, there seemed to be a focus on fishing. There were half a dozen people on the fishing pier and a couple more arrived as I departed. I have not seen anything caught and I’m not sure what they expect to catch. Other than the people fishing, there wasn’t much of interest on my late afternoon walk.

Sunday March 3rd 2024

The day started early with a rather rude and uncertain awakening. Around 4:30 in the morning I woke to the sound of rain on the roof and another persistent but unidentifiable sound. In the fog of being almost awake I attributed to be rolling thunder and went back to sleep. About an hour later I woke again to something similar. This time I got up to look out the window and noticed that the time on the microwave was blank. The power was out and my RV home was running on the inverter from the batteries. I was now suspicious that the noise was power related. Maybe it was a transformer struggling to do its job. With nothing to do about it I went back to bed only to be woken up again at 6:30AM. This time it was a the sound of my neighbor across the street departing. Raising trailer stabilizer jacks with a power drill can be very noisy. Sometime later the power came back on with the usual bang of my transfer switch relay.

The rain continued off and on all morning. Since I am parked under trees the sound of rain continues long after the actual shower is over. The sound of rain falling on the roof was consistent throughout my breakfast and morning internet reading. With the appearance of some filtered sunshine shortly after the noon hour, I ventured out on a walk to the day use area. There was a wedding getting setup in one of the pavilions and in the amphitheater. I didn’t see an identifiable bride or groom, but music was playing and lots of slightly better than normally dressed people were gathering.

I continued by the area of the wedding and out toward the fishing and picnic area. The turtles were out taking advantage of the small amount of sun. In the lake a group of anhingas and a solitary white pelican were gathered in one area. Both are diving birds so I would assume there were fish near the surface in that area. The anhingas went under for their usual underwater swimming style fishing runs. White Pelicans just stick their heads under when something gets near. I never saw the pelican stick its head underwater.

The rumble of thunder and lots of black clouds to the east shortened my hike. The weather radar app on my phone showed the storm moving away from the area, but I didn’t choose to take any chances. I got home without getting wet. About an hour later a storm found me. It contained the sound of some thunder and a heavy rain. Another dry period followed, but it rained again when I was ready for my sunset hike. It turned into a one hike day.

Saturday March 2nd 2024

The weather forecast called for rain in the morning and clearing in the afternoon. In the late morning it looked like they nailed the forecast. I drove down to the prairie and set out on the Cones Dyke trail out onto the prairie. This is the same trail I allowed the deer to block my path earlier in the week.

This is an out and back trail that starts by following the park boarder before heading out into the middle of the prairie. On the first mile of the trail I passed the sun bathing young alligators I’ve seen on each of my excursions onto the trail this year. As I continued on I was soon past the area of the deer blockade. There were only a few other people on the trail, but everybody was well spaced. The dung along the first part of the trail was largely from the wild horses. A new form started to appear that I assume came from the bison that live on the prairie. It didn’t appear to be very fresh. I didn’t see any wild horses or bison on the hike.

Soon after I passed by the line of trees that marked the boarder of the park from grazing fields I spotted a big brown animal. It was in the fenced off area outside the boarder of the park and turned out to be a lonely domesticated bovine, most likely a bull that’s getting kept isolated. I continued my walk deeper into the prairie, but started to get concerned with the weather. A big black cloud area was on the western horizon. Checking the radar on my phone, everything looked OK, but not much later I think I heard thunder. I wasn’t prepared for rain and I was close to being the tallest think for a few hundred yards in any direction. It was timed to turn around. There was a light rain before I got back to the trail head, but the real heavy rain waited until I was back at my RV home.

A thunderstorm rain intensity level storm without any real thunder or lightening moved through the area in mid afternoon. Similar to Friday, the sun was attempting to break through the clouds just before sunset. I took my usual late afternoon to the day use area. The weekend level of activity was apparent. A few boat trailers and cars for hikers and fishermen occupied the parking lot. I passed several hiking groups along the trail.

Friday March 1st 2024

Cloudy and hot are the operative weather words for the day. The high temperature was in the low eighties with high humidity, but the sun only flirted with an appearance once late in the day. This is a much wetter weather pattern. It rained hard for about an hour in the mid afternoon.

A trip to Walmart for groceries and the rain storm really cut into my hiking time today. I started the afternoon with a trip into Gainesville for groceries. The Walmart wasn’t busy. I was able to park near the door, find a shopping cart, and make my way up and down all the aisles with ease. The only negative part of today’s experience was the checkout. There was only one “Assisted” checkout open and that one was a training session. When I have a full cart of stuff, I resist to the nth degree using the self checkouts. Today I was willing to give up time at the checkout for simplicity. As a solo shopper, self checkouts are just a pain. There isn’t enough room and I only have two hands.

Once I was back at my RV home, unloading my purchases from the car and stowing the groceries away took half an hour or so. By that time, the rain storm was rapidly approaching. My thought of taking a trip to the observation tower on the prairie went on pause. The rain was much heavier than I expected, but it only lasted about an hour during which I went into cooking mode further delaying my visit to the observation tower. After I finished eating it was too late for anything other than a walk to the day use area on the lake.

Thursday February 29th 2024

Happy Leap Year

The sun was in hiding today. The cold front passed through overnight without spilling any rain. The wind is now out of the north and the temperature is having a hard time crossing the seventy degree mark.

I started the active part of my day with a trip to the observation tower on the prairie. It was a disappointing visit. None of the wildlife on the prairie was visible. I wonder if the wind direction was part of the reason. There would have been more sheltered areas than those visible from the observation tower.

My first and only walk of the day to the day use area on the lake was near sunset. Other than a fisherman and a couple of other hikers, the area was almost deserted. The cloud cover prevented any kind of sunset viewing and it really wasn’t warm enough to sit around. I was back in the comfort of my RV home soon after.

The campground had a lot of turnover again today. I don’t know if the campground filled last night, but I think it will tonight. Some of today’s arrivals have the look of weekenders. I’ll have to check tomorrow to see if my guess is correct.

Wednesday February 28th 2024

The mold was pattern with today’s weather. The sky wasn’t all blue. The sunshine was filtered through a thin layer of clouds. It was a much more humid day. The wind was very strong out of the south. These changes resulted in a little less comfort to the outdoor experience. The temperature climbed above the eighty degree mark for a little while during the afternoon.

My daily activity changed a little as well. I didn’t drive to the observation tower at the side of the prairie this afternoon. Chores around my RV home got in the way. I still got in two walks to the day use area and back. The day use area is about half a mile around the camping loop and through the woods. On my first hike at the lunch hour there were a few people enjoying lunch at the picnic tables and a couple of boats getting launched. Overall it was much quieter than the last few days.

The wind was the key element today. Keeping your hat on was a challenge. Out on the lake there were a few hardy souls taking advantage of the wind. There were two sailboats, one sailboarder and a stand up paddle boarder. I think the wind was too strong for the sailboarder. It looked like the sail got knocked out of his hands often. The sailboats would spend half an hour tacking to the upwind part of the lake only to cruise back to the other end in three minutes or less. I guess that’s fun.

The campground was quieter today as well. Many campers seemed to leave early today. The last few days new campers were flooding in at the 1PM checkout time to start filling up the empty sites. Today there were still empty sites late in the afternoon. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn there were empty sites overnight, but I’m not taking a late night inventory.

Tuesday February 27th 2024

The great weather continued today. It was a little windier and a little warmer. The temperature peaked in the upper seventies near eighty. They are now forecasting the weekend to be the beginning of a rainy period.

My mission today was to walk the Cones Dike trail out on to Paynes Prairie. Shortly after the noon hour I drove deeper into the park to the visitors center. The crowds were down today. I had a few minutes on the observation tower to my self. The horses were in a new location. My luck was strong. They were a close to the trail I was going to walk.

Getting to the start of the Cones Dike trail either requires you to back track toward the parking lot from the observation tower, or test your luck with the water and mud in front of the visitors center. Since it has been four days since it rained, I tried my luck in front of the visitors center. I almost made it. Getting across the last section of muddy ground walking from stick to branch to clump of grass I started to loose my balance. To steady myself I put my left foot down in the muck. It only went to the top of my hiking shoe, but my foot was squeaky for a while after that.

The Cones Dike trail follows the park boundary and prairie edge for the first part of the trail. It is a gravel path suitable for trucks with a couple of square corners. The wild horses were near the first right turn. The second turn is to the left about a half a mile away I’d guess. Between the two turns the area on both sides of the path is filled with water. I spotted five small to medium alligators near the culvert that connects the two sides.

Just as I was approaching the second turn, a deer stepped out of the brush about fifty feet in front of me. I stopped and waited for her to move along, but she was soon joined by two other deer. They knew I was there, but didn’t really care. I stood and took pictures for about ten minutes. If I moved on they would probably run, but it is there home. I turned around and headed back toward the trail head. On my way back another deer came crashing down the prairie splashing up all kinds of water. This deer was bigger and alone. It was probably a buck. I’ll try the hike another day.

At sunset I took my second hike of the day to the day use area. There were still quite a few cars in the parking lot. The only people I saw were gathered for the sunset across the lake. The park clearly seems to be getting more traffic than previous years.

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.

Sunday February 25th 2024

Today’s weather was a clone of Saturday and my activities were pretty much the same as well. Even though I did the same things, I had different results and observations.

Near noon, after a very leisurely breakfast I walked to the day use area on Lake Wauburg. There were fewer boaters than yesterday, but more people around. Today seemed to be a day for family hikes with the family dog. I saw several group of mom, dad, a grand parent or two along with two or more kids and a dog on the trails. It gets a little interesting when some of the dogs meet.

The turtles were in the same location as yesterday. One additional turtle had joined the sunbathing experience. Along with the turtles were two black water snakes. An “expert” looking at the snakes while I was there declared them to be venomous cotton mouth snakes. I have no reason to dispute the identification. All I know is they were black snakes that swam in the water. I am not getting near them either way.

During the afternoon I drove to the prairie again. Today, the wild horses were in view from the observation tower. They were a long way away and binoculars or a camera zoom were required to identify that the brown and black spots were actually horses. I’ve included a well zoomed and cropped picture in this blog entry.

After a few minutes on the observation tower, I ventured along the trail out onto the prairie. Keeping to the trail on the high ground, I walked along the edge of the prairie to an area where the water on the prairie passes under the trail. As is the case elsewhere in the state park, the water level is high on the prairie. Where the water passes under the road, the channel of water is deeper than the general prairie area. There were three young alligators trying to catch some sun.

My last adventure of the day was another walk to Lake Wauburg just before sunset. There were still a lot of people fishing and a few waiting for the sunset. All of the basking turtles and the snakes were below the surface. I still haven’t seen any of the typical water birds. The egrets and herons must be hiding somewhere else.

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.