Built last year around the lime stone sink that was called a “chua” in Timucuan, to protect the edge of the sink and the creek that runs into it and to keep people out and away from the alligators that are there. This walk begins at the sink itself and ends a hundred yards or so where the water spreads out before running down to the sink hole. From the covered deck I counted 35 ’gators sunning themselves on the bank. from here the trail goes down on the ground for another mile out to a tower where you can look out over Paynes Prairie. This is the time of year for the annual gathering of Sandhill Cranes, not many this year and none near enough to see without binoculars, bison – American Buffalo, and wild horses. Did I fail to mention hundreds of nice large alligators, mostly sunning n the far bank of the canal, but a few on the near bank next to the trail. There are herons, egrets, American bittern (I saw three), white and glossy ibis, and if you are truly lucky, you might see the Whooping Cranes that are also here this time of year. this year there were 5 – way too far out to get a shot of them.

This shot taken on the north entrance to Paynes Prairie at the edge of Gainesville, Florida, on 1/22/2010