Booked!

Well, we've booked our campsite for our first vacation of the year. We're headed to the panhandle of Florida where we'll be kayaking some waterways we've never seen. I like tackling new territory in the wilds, so this will be an adventure for Carole and me.

We get a huge kick out of hitting wild areas of Florida. Yes, I like the mountains. Give me the mountains most of the time. However, for sheer amount of wildlife, nothing can touch the low country of the southern states. When I go to the mountains, I never know if I'll even see any wildlife. Often I do, but sometimes I don't even see a bird. But when I hit a river or spring or hammock in Florida...it's a wildlife bonanza!

If you're a birder, I can think of no finer location for viewing birds than Florida. If you're looking for megafanua...they have that, too. Every time I go there I will encounter large animals such as alligators, bears, sea turtles, Blue herons, manatees, deer, coyotes, and other such wildlife. The place is just packed cheek by jowl with all manner of wonderful critters.

So, just a few more weeks and off we go. I'm hoping to spy something new and different this time. One thing that I have never photographed in the wild is a bobcat. I know they're in the places I frequent, but they have remained so elusive for me that I've yet to get a photo of one.

One of many campgrounds we've enjoyed in Florida.

Paddling a crystal clear river.

A tiny key deer.

Ibis.

Gopher tortoise. Endangered species, of course.

"Let me climb down this tree, my good man, and fuck up your campsite."

Nice trails to hike!

What?! Another crystal clear river to kayak!

One of my favorite American birds. The Black buzzard.

A school of mullet I swam with in Silver Glen Spring.

A manatee! Probably the biggest animal I've encountered in Florida. I see them often, now that they've enjoyed several decades of protection as an endangered species. I rarely saw them when I was a kid.

The first magnitude springs of Florida. My favorite places in the state!

Jumping off the 20-foot diving platform at Wakulla Springs! I'll be there again in May!