Micanopy - Paynes Prairie - Lake Kissimmee - September 2020
Paynes Prairie Preserve, Micanopy, Florida
September 2020
Cassadaga, Florida
I leave early on a Sunday and head straight up I-95 until I get to the New Smyrna Beach exit, where I head west on State Road 44 and pass the New Symrna Speedway. This will certainly be a future stop in my quest to visit race tracks across America and experience some home town racing. I continue westward. My first stop is in the unique town of Cassadaga, which has been named the psychic capital of the world due to the large number of psychics and mediums in the community. The historic cemetery includes the urban legend of the ‘devils chair’.
Deland, Florida
I then drove to DeLand, the first town in Florida to have electricity. The main street, Woodland Boulevard, has a number of 19th century buildings that are part of it’s historic district. I spent some time walking through the streets of this historic city.
Barberville, Florida
Heading northwest from DeLand on US17 brought me to a roadside attraction that I had to turn around for. I was in the small community of Barberville. The attraction that made me turn around was the Barberville Yard Art Emporium, who bills itself as the World’s Largest Collection of Outdoor Art, and after walking through the collection, I believe it may be true.
Garden of Love Pet Memorial Park - Micanopy, Florida
It was then back on the road, heading towards my final destination, but with one more interesting stop just before getting to my campsite. My first experience with a pet cemetery, this peaceful little area was established in 1980 and is the resting place for many beloved pets from around the area.
Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park
I would spend five awesome days at my favorite Florida State Park, Paynes Prairie Preserve. This would be my third trip to this park, just south of Gainesville, and as usual it didn’t disappoint. As the van was currently without air conditioning as I wait for a replacement, the weather certainly cooperated and stayed in the high 70’s during the day, and mid 60’s at night. I kept the fan moving air through the van all day and it was perfect.
It would be difficult to isolate any specific highlight of the stay, but a few experiences certainly stand out. The wild horses that live in this prairie were left here by the Spanish in the 1500s. When the Spanish left, horses and cattle were left behind. They were later used by the Seminole Indians and eventually Florida cattlemen, but today they graze the prairie at their own pace and we enjoy the descendants of these horses. I had two wonderful experiences with the horses, the first being a hike to a small watering hole where three of the horses were hanging out early in the morning of my first full day at the prairie. Here is a short little video of that experience.
Early the next morning, around sunrise, I drove the van to the observation tower where I can usually spot some horses grazing in the distance, often seeing white tail deer as they emerge from the trees early in the morning. This morning was different, a newborn foal and his mother were present, just a few hundred feet from the observation tower. Based on the challenges that the foal was having just to maintain a standing position and walk makes me think that it wasn’t more than a few hours old, possibly born during the night.
I enjoyed the silent interaction between Mother and baby. The protection and patience that the mother displayed while the foal laid on the ground to rest was fun to watch. Mom would stand above her new baby for as long as it took, sometimes 30 minutes or more, until he gained the strength to get back on his feet. This was a very special experience from this trip. The beginning of the video below is a bit grainy due to the lack of light so early in the morning.
Since I started playing around with nature photography a couple years back, I’ve always looked forward to the first opportunity to photograph a bald eagle in the wild. I knew that they existed in this park, but had never had the fortune to see one from my past visits. I wasn’t expecting this vistit to be any different. I had brought my kayak on this trip with the expectation that I’d use it once or twice in Lake Wauburg, about 1/4 mile from the campground. I decided to take it down off the van and go for a quick paddle at lunch time. This was going to be a quick trip, no need to bring the camera…. right?
I paddle across the lake to a small group of trees isolated from the brush that surrounds the majority of the lake. I see a good sized bird perched up on a limb, high above the base of the tree. Was it a hawk? No, don’t think so. Possibly an osprey. I look closer, not an osprey. Yeah, it was a bald eagle sitting proudly in the tree, just a few hundred feet from me, and I didn’t have my camera! I take a few quick shots with my phone just for evidence. Those photos looked terrible. What should I do? I decide to paddle back across the lake, about a 20 minute paddle, to get my camera. I saw that the eagle flew away while I was paddling, but this wasn’t enough to stop me. I grab my camera from the van and head back across the lake, another 20 minute paddle. Would the eagle be back to that tree? Yes ! In fact, two eagles were in the area, a younger eagle identified by the darker head, as well as the adult eagle a tree or two away. My first bald eagle experience, almost lost !
And on my final day at Paynes Prairie, I decide to take one more trip over to the observation tower before I start packing up, slightly less than 3 miles from the campground. By myself on a Friday afternoon, I climb to the third level of the tower to see if I can see anything in the prairie. I do see a herd of about 10 bison in the distance, I would estimate about a quarter of a mile from my location. I take some photos with my zoom lense, getting the best shots that I can at such a distance.
But then I notice that the herd is slowly migrating towards my position, with most of the bison coming to within a few hundred feet before veering off towards a distant pond. There were two bison that instead decided to continue towards the observation tower, allowing me to capture some video showing them wallowing in the dirt. This may have been to deter the biting flies, or perhaps just to show their brute strength. In any case, it was a joy to watch.
Historic Micanopy, Florida
“The Town that Time Forgot”
I spent one afternoon walking through the small town of Micanopy, with a population of around 600. The downtown is a historic district and has a number of antique shops and small restaurants. It was the filming location of the move Doc Hollywood in 1991. The Micanopy Historic Cemetery, founded in 1826, is absolutely beautiful and immediately gives a feeling of peace when walking through.
Aurburndale Speedway, Winterhaven, Florida
On Saturday night, I took a one hour trip with the van to Winter Haven and enjoyed an evening of small town racing at the Auburndale Speedway. This is a very American experience, there is so much I love about small town race tracks. The people are happy and the competition is fierce. I enjoyed watching the spirit of the flag man at the start of the race in the video.
Lake Kissimmee State Park
The next stay during my journey was a Florida State Park that I had not visited before, Lake Kissimmee State Park. With lakes on all sides, this park turned out to be a wonderful kayaking opportunity which I took advantage of on Saturday and Sunday. I had a nice campsite with a large grassy field behind me. Because it was a bit warmer than I had experienced the past few nights, I slept with both back doors wide open, using the snap-on screen for the first time that is provided with the RV. With the air flowing through the van, it was nice seeing the moon and stars out the back doors.
It was a great trip to two of Florida’s wonderful state parks. The RV functioned perfectly, even with the kayak and my new cargo carrier mounted on top. The flexibility of jumping in the van and going just about anywhere during the day was great. Where will it take me next?
