Big Swamp Buggy and Little Baby Gators

Saturday, January 23, 2016


Settling in here at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve. Greg got to have another swamp buggy ride this week. I was invited to go along with the other volunteers who were out fixing hiking trail markers, (our first night here two young men were lost all night in the rain...) I bowed out at the last minute. It was 45 degrees and howling wind. I didn't come to Florida to be cold!

The Swamp Buggy

The feral hogs rooted up the old military road since everything else was under water

Trimming low hanging branches for future tours

Our primitive campsite had 1-1/2- feet of water

One of our freshly painted trail markers

Greg replacing trail tags

Motoring through thigh-deep water

This 10-foot gator wouldn't move out of the trail for hikers but he moved for us!

I finally got my assigned office days of Thursday and Sunday. I have been learning the computer and reservation system and hopefully the correct answers to all the questions I get asked in person and over the phone. I have already been corrected about my comments in the last post. We are NOT the largest Florida State Park. There are two larger ones. But, at 54,000 acres and only 35 campsites in a remote area, we are pretty unique.


Greg has been continuing on his special project of pulling up the soon to be USDA listed invasive bushes (Sida p.). He spends a few hours each morning filling garbage bags full of them. Since he is near the campground in a highly visible place he gets lots of questions, especially from the other volunteers who want to know what he is being punished for!


We continue to be blasted from El Nino storms coming across the state. This week the marshy area behind our campsite became a lake. There was even a current flowing through it as the prairie drains west to the Kissimmee River. My bike, under the bike cover, which had been leaning against a tree behind the rig became stranded on an island. I was in no hurry to ride, so we waited for the water to subside to rescue it. The turkeys, crows and ibises have been wading in it all week. I have been waiting for an alligator to go floating by, but all we heard was one bellowing on the other side of our lake. It's the time of year for gator mating!

Our campsite when warm and dry

Our waterfront view!

 

Turkeys wading behind our RV

The bike island

Female turkey trying to dry off

Speaking of gators, there have been 4-5 babies just off the road to our campground. During my office hours I have been referring visitors to the area to see them. The momma has been down the road in the drainage culvert in front of the office. Walking back to our site on Thursday, after my day in the office, I veered off the road and into the beat down grass to see the babies. Hello, momma! She hadn't been there all week. I backed off and walked on down the road. I hope there were not too many startled visitors that I had directed there during the day to see the cute little babies!

Standing on top of momma gator - in a culvert.

4 Babies next to the road

Gator territory behind our campsite

We live in the Equestrian Campground, but had seen no horses until this week, which was the start of “Horsegate”. Lots of drama from the two women and their horses who arrived to occupy the site next to us. Horses are to remain in the paddock across the road, but they wanted none of that! They are here to spend time with their horses and left them tied for two days to their trailer on the site next to ours. They paddocked them at night, but all day the horses tied up, eating and pooping while the humans sat on the other side of the trailer, not even in sight of them. After a couple talks with the rangers, they seem to be complying.

Do they make waders for horses?

More drama this morning when the young couple tenting in the overflow site next to us had a domestic dispute and the ranger had to be called. The young man threw all their camping gear into the back of the car including the tent, which he crushed into a ball snapping all the poles and they took off so fast he almost made his tires squeal on the sand road. Nearly ran into the ranger on his way in. Greg had to put out the fire he had started in the fire ring that was flaring up due to our high winds today. Our horse neighbor said she was scared by all the yelling and told the ranger that she had strapped on her pistol! Huh?! We never felt threatened.


This afternoon a Boy Scout troop showed up to camp on the other side of the horsey neighbors. They appear to have plenty of adult supervision, so I think they won't be a disruption. So much for our quiet spot at the end of the campground! Usually after the weekend things quiet down, but we are booked solid for the winter months. The snowbirds have discovered this park. Most of them are retirees who just want to look at wildlife and be quiet. Kinda' like us!

Red Shouldered Hawk, one of many raptors here

(Last night both of us got robocalls from our old Amazon warehouse telling us our shift was canceled due to weather!? Not sure how to get our numbers out of the system. They sure figured out how to stop paying us!)