ALLIGATORS ALL AROUND!

I have this unexplainable fascination with alligators and reptiles.  I was always the one wanting a stop at the alligator farm or snake ranch..... and the gators at the Paynes Prairie Preserve have been awesome!  even tho' they mostly just lie there in their sunspots.

Last week we went for a walk on the Prairie after a rainfall, and found that the gators were moving around from one pool to another - and we even spotted a couple in the canal/creek.  A short walk later we spotted a couple big ones had migrated up the canal, and were sunning themselves on the sandy bottom of the culvert - a good 20 below the path we were on, and seemed very safely distant from us, considering how steep the sides of the culvert were, and how sandy the soil was.

We continued our walk, and on the return trip we discovered that alligators are alot more agile then I thought!

This little fellow was about 15ft long, and had climbed that bank in less than 10 minutes.  He was now up on the path - where the sun must have been stronger!

I may be fascinated with them, but I don't like them this close without the concrete barriers and fencing!

He's clearly grinning about this.  It must be a favorite stunt for the hapless tourist.  10 minutes later when we checked again he was gone without a trace.