The Alligator Hunt

Out and About; via Satellite from Florida --

After a late breakfast this Sunday, One-Eyed Jack took us all for a ride down US-17 to the town of Palatka where we saw gasoline priced 10 cents a gallon less than in Jacksonville a couple days before. We also had lunch in a local Wendy's -- the pubs were all closed since it was Sunday!

Then we went looking for Alligators. With the trusty "Gretchen Garmin" at our aid, we soon got lost on a dead-end road. (Really, can you believe it is a Dead End road when the centerline is painted and you can see four miles down to a curve with no end in sight?!) Besides, Gretchen showed another road that would lead us back to the main highway. Lo and behold, when we got to the end of the paved, centerline-marked highway, the "road" that Gretchen showed on her pretty (pink?) screen was blocked by a chained gate. Well, the road didn't look all that good either -- it was just a two-track trail in the sandy soil that they call "dirt" down here in Northeast Florida. This pretty red swamp flower made the long trip worth our while, however. We also spotted three smallish white wading birds that looked like egrets, but they had some yellow-brown feathers on their breasts and along the crown of their heads and tails. We were unsuccessful in getting any good pictures of these shy birds.

After a frantic call to Peggie's brother Glenn, we were directed back down this Dead End road to nearly its beginning where we found the small, green sign that pointed the way to "Williams Park" -- the locale for serious Alligator hunting.

Upon arriving at the Park, we found this flower, which we ask the readers more skilled in Botany that any of us, to identify. It's petals are very leathery and the habitat where it was found was wet -- it may have come from a lily-pad or other aquatic plant, possibly uprooted by the denizens of this area, the Alligator.

Also found at the park were these Cypress trees with their curious up-rising root nubs. What function these root nubs perform is anybody's guess. The Spanish moss hanging from the trees above was picturesque, to say the least.

Not finding any Alligators to harass was somewhat of a disappointment to Grumpy. He had to be content with the one he saw at Clark's Fish Camp (the place with the alligator tail appetizers).

On the return trip away from the water (river side), this beautiful Magnolia flower! The aroma ascending from this flower was almost intoxicating! Grumpy would have picked it, but the owner might have been spotted sitting on his front porch with a double-barrelled shotgun across his knees.

As we drove back to the Retirement Castle on the Hill, a turtle was spotted by the roadside. Some in the car wanted to go back and put the turtle in the back seat (with Peggie, who said she wanted it for a pet!). One-Eyed Jack patiently turned around and drove back to where the turtle had been sighted; we all got out and took pictures. Surfing the INTERNET after we got back to the Castle, we discovered that the turtle was a Florida Gopher Tortoise, an endangered species! Further, since it was agreed by those who saw him(her?) that the size of this guy was over 12 inches -- maybe as much as 15 or 16 -- that this was indeed an extremely rare sighting!! Gopher Tortoises mature in about 12-15 years at a length of about 8-9 inches. The record size is reported as 15 inches. Had we realized what a rare event this was, we would have taken more photos and a measurement or three!