Started the new year off today by burning of the remnants of last nights party by hiking at Loyce E. Harpe Park aka the gator pits. We saw four aligators today, one snake and a bunch of turtles and birds. The park was really hopping with hikers, fishermen, and tons of bicyclists which meant we had to keep hopping off the trail to keep from getting run over. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day and were excited when we finally discovered how to get to a trail we had seen several times from across the water but which we couldn't figure out how to get to previously.
A little background about the park. The land was previously a phosphate mine, I believe back in the 50's and 60's. As a result of the mining there are long "fingers" of raised land, sometimes quite high, which stretch out into the water.
We were within five feet of this gator who also had a baby nearby which I couldn't get a picture of due to underbrush.
The same gator from another angle.
This was a smaller guy about two feet long.
Apparently even wildlife likes to decorate for the holidays.
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Looks amazing! The colors are so vivid, too!
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