La Chua Trail

This morning, Jeff and I woke up and actually had time to spend together. After some lounging around, we headed off to the La Chua Trail to take some pics and go for a leisurely stroll. I warned Jeff that there was a new fee per person, but he still wanted to go, so we made our way to the trailhead. Upon arriving, surprise!, there were signs posted notifying visitors of the $2.00 per person entry fee. It might not seem like a lot, but we're used to free access to this great trail, and we were a bit put off by the hike (get it?), which is why we offered our receipts to two incoming visitors on our way out of the parking lot. Much to our relief, we didn't get arrested by a park ranger waiting for law-breakers like us.

The great thing about the La Chua Trail is that it has a different feel each time we go. The first time we walked it, the platform leading to the sinkhole wasn't even built, so we got a lot of views of the brush. When we went back, the boardwalk was built, and we were able to see a bunch of gators due to the low water level in the sinkhole. Another time, we went there for a run and almost stepped on little mice the entire time; there was an article in the Gainesville Sun the next day about the strange influx of mice into Payne's Prairie. This time, the water was extremely high to the point that we saw no islands in the sinkhole and we struggled to see gators, that is, until we passed the platform and saw nearly 25 of them lounging on the shoreline. We gawked, then walked, then gawked some more as we ended up seeing about 150 gators altogether. Some of them were babies, some of them were giants. We got close to more than I ever anticipated in my life.

We also saw five buffalo--two crossing the water out in the prairie--and an array of birds, including two American Bitterns, two Whopping Cranes and some Sandhill Cranes.

I'm not sure how many more times we'll visit the trail, but this time was, by far, the best time we've had there together. I guess it's true that you get what you pay for.