 Observation Tower |
| There was a good rain the first night and the resurrection ferns on the live oak branches went from a dull brown to a glowing green. Picture was taken from the tower looking down on the branches. |
 Resurrection Ferns |
| Using binoculars, I saw the herd of wild horses beyond the swampy area where I could not use the bike. Seven deer were grazing along one of the bike trails. I did not see any of the buffalo or wild cattle. |
 Wild Horses |
 White Tailed Deer |
| The Cone's Dike Trail is used for hiking and cycling, but the entrance was a narrow inlet for hikers and a locked farm gate. Bicycles had to be lifted over the gate to gain access to the trail. I used the folding bike to squeeze through the hikers entrance and was able to bike a few miles on the black gravel road before encountering the swampy area where the water was flowing. The only spider found was in the women's restroom. |
 Cone's Dike Trail |
 Spider |
| When I first arrived at the campsite, a cardinal started attacking my
outside rear view mirror and I placed cloth bags over both bags
immediately. On my last day in camp, I forgot to replace one of the bags
and I watched the female cardinal doing its attack on the mirror while the
male just hopped around on the ground looking for insects.
One night I heard a great horned owl in the campground and phoned my daughter in Austin, Texas. What a coincidence that was the same night she had a pair of great horned owls serenading each other in her yard. Also that night all the door locks on the Westy opened at 1:17 am when a weather front moved quickly through with wind and rain. It only happened once, but I stayed awake for two hours waiting for a repeat performance of the doors continually unlocking that occurred on Little Talbott Island. |
 Female Cardinal |
 Male Cardinal |
| There was a boardwalk over park of Wauberg Lake close to the campground. It was a perfect place to watch the birds and other wildlife. One day there were four snakes basking in the little bit of sunlight. Another day I watched the anhingas fishing and drying. Also watched the bald eagles and cormorants and other smaller birds. |
 Anhinga |
 Bald Eagle |
| The boardwalk also continues into the .85 mile Lake Trail and I met a pleasant couple of snowbirds who were hiking from the campground to the visitors' center. |
 Ev |
 Hikers |
| On one of the rainy days, I had the opportunity to join a large group of state park volunteers who had a workship to prepare table decorations for the Volunteer Appreciation Weekend at Paynes Prairie March 24-26. We gathered at the lovely home of one of volunteers and they divided the group into several classes for weaving palm baskets, creating birds and fish, and constructing chickees for the 80+ tables in the "Lean and Green" theme using native materials. |
 Volunteers at Work |
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I drove a total of 88.5 miles on the Westy and biked 14.5 miles on the electric bike. After checking out Jackson's Gap Trail and finding it very sandy, I did not use the 3-speed as I planned. More Trips to Paynes Prairie As soon as I was able to drive with my new knee, I returned to Paynes Prairie in March to get one more camping trip before the Alaska cruise in May. After the cruise, back to Paynes Prairie in June, but my trip was cut short because of Hurricane Alberto warnings. My last bike ride there was in a wind, rain, and dust storm. The park is so near to home, days trips are also very enjoyable. |