Alexander Spring Gator Tale/Tail

Sunday, December 9, 2007, I put the kayak in at the Lake County Highway 445 bridge and paddled about a half hour to the Alexander Springs Recreation Area in the Ocala National Forest. As you see, leaves do change in north central Florida. The Creek is clear, thanks to the Spring. And peaceful, motorized boats are not allowed past the bridge.
That's a green heron amongst the reeds of my starboard bow. I arrived at the uncrowded Recreation Area. A few kids in the shallows, their parents sunning, two scuba divers gearing up. I got in the water, checked out the fish in the weeds on the fringe of the Spring, then went to the massive Spring itself. Here is a sample of what I saw.

I also saw an alligator. A fellow swimmer pointed it out to me. A five footer on the vegated bank, about 20 yards away, I continued to snorkel, going to to the end of the swim area, then back to the Spring. The alligator was now swimming. I warily watched, then saw it reassume its postion on the vegatated bank. Apparently there was not enough solid ground to support its tail.
My first underwater alligator shot. Objects are not as close as they appear, I was using maximum zoom.

As always at Alexander Springs, I followed my snorkel with a walk on the Timucan Trail, a 1.1 mile half boardwalk, half trail hike through oak hammock and sand pine scrub. Then back in the yak, paddling past the bridge for an undetermined time-I did not have a watch, then back to the Bridge ending a 5.5 hour visit to Alexander Creek and Springs. Here is some of what I saw.






Sunning turtles, swimming otter, limpkin, inside out Great Blue Heron, ibisesesss ( I don't know when to stop), little bitty alligator. And, in closing, fall colors with palm trees.