Paynes Prairie

My family and I walked along one of the waterways (not sure which) and saw a ton of alligators. Most of them were on the other bank. My brother and his family live in Gainesville and have been here several times. We saw about six gators sunbathing on the opposite bank. At least two of them were overlapping each other, tail over torso of the other.

We walked to a lookout tower, which gives a nice overview of the immediate area. At the bottom of the tower, were two gators. One headed back into the water. The other one, facing the water, was about 10 feet or so from us. We felt safe, because it was facing away from us. We also were close to a “baby” alligator, who was about 3 feet long.

Along the walk we also saw variety of birds and a most docile, non-poisonous snake. I petted its backside.

It’s a really nice place to go for a walk. There are several trails, some of which allow horses or bikes.