Candid Florida

Florida’s largest live oak is just south of the tiny town of LaCrosse in rural north Alachua County. Known as the Cellon Oak, it’s so expansive that the cover of “Big Trees in Florida” shows 30-some-odd people linking hands to approximate the width of the tree’s crown. It’ll help you put yourself in perspective!

Making a late trip to Micanopy, I arrived at Paynes Prairie State Park mindful of sunset’s approach. A wander along Lake Wauberg to the symphony of Archie Carr’s favorite frogs brought memories flooding back of gentler times before the gators chased the swimmers away and the parking lot was still full to overflow. I settled onto a bench to watch the sun shimmer across the waves until it was time to leave, caught in a cascade of memories. Savoring sunset from the boardwalk at US 441 made a fine close to the day.

In the heart of Gator Country, a deep sinkhole swallows the waters of Paynes Prairie at its northeastern rim in Gainesville: La Chua Sink. On a prior, drier visit, I could see Sweetwater Branch cascading down into the throat of the sink, but the bowl’s pretty full right now, and water is gushing down into it at an incredible rate.

A new boardwalk guides visitors around the sink to a lookout point over the broadest part, where the alligators have their say. You’d think you were at a gator farm with all the creatures you see thrashing about in the shallows and sunning on the banks, but this is the biggest gator hole in Paynes Prairie, and they flock here from all over. What was truly freaky, however, was the high-speed run that Sweetwater Branch makes down from an old weir and culvert into the sink. Complete with its own rapids to rival the Little Shoals of the Suwannee, it also offers the scariest water hazard you’d ever encounter — massive gators around every bend. What do you call whitewater with alligators?

In all the years I’ve been visiting or crossing Paynes Prairie, I’ve seen an abundance of wildlife. Bald eagles in pairs. Sandhill cranes by the hundreds. Huge flocks of white pelicans. The ubiquitous alligators. Wild turkeys and deer dashing across the park road. Skinks a foot long. But in all my attempts to come up with a look at the famed Cracker horses and bison, I’ve only come up with road apples on the trails. Until now.

A visit to the observation tower the other morning led to a truly open vista, with the waters once again peeled away to reveal the grasslands beneath. And there, in the distance, grazing on the prairie, not just one horse, but a family with foal. What a thrill!

Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park is a significant natural landmark along US 441 between Micanopy and Gainesville. Don’t miss it!