Broken Buggy

Sunday January 6, 2013
Site 30 Kissimmee Prairie Preserve
Okeechobee, Florida

 

No swamp buggy tour for us.
What a disappointment.

 

Doesn’t this buggy look cool?  I was so excited to ride on it.  Every time I saw it parked over by the shed, I thought about how much fun it would be.  I’d get my pictures when we got on it.  This picture is from the internet.  The story of why I don’t have my own picture follows. 

The Swamp Buggy tour only runs on the week-ends.  During the winter there is an 8:30 am and a 2:00 pm tour both Saturday and Sunday.  We opted out of the Saturday morning because it was a running day.  The Saturday afternoon tour was full so we couldn’t get on and signed ourselves up for Sunday morning.   But then after about an hour and a half into the Saturday afternoon tour, the buggy had mechanical troubles and the 8 tourists had to be 4WD truck rescued and returned to the office.  Money refunded since they only got half a tour but no tours on Sunday at all since the repairs can’t start until Monday.  We are having some bad luck here at the Prairie.

 

 

Now we have another free day.

 

 

I can show you at least some of the puffy clouds if not the scope of the skies and prairie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out come the bikes. 

From the shell roads in the Preserve is a great way to see the expanse of this landscape.

 

We get most of the way down this road to our hiking, no motor vehicle trail destination when David discovers he doesn’t have the binoculars.  He’s been using mine since he can’t locate his.  So he turns around and bikes back about a mile to get them and then another mile to rejoin me.

 

I wait.  :-)

 

We are going down a trail we’ve been on before but….

because it has sloughs we think our chances of seeing wildlife will be improved.

Sure enough.  There is a flock of ibis gathered on the road/trail next to the wetlands.   We estimate there are 300 or 400.   Too many for me to get in one picture.   Ibis of all ages and stages.

 

 

 

Neither of us has ever seen a flock of birds this large.  20 can fly off without any noticeable difference in the group.   Love them grouped around this beware of alligator sign.

 

 

It is breath taking to see them fly and hear their wings.

 

David is positive he sees a kestrel through the binoculars.  We also think we hear a night hawk.  But these are the folks we for sure see and can get photos of in this watery area.

Numerous red winged blackbirds

 

over a dozen queen butterflies

 

3 BIG alligators

 

A great egret surveying his lands

 

 

 

This anhinga blended in so well I almost didn’t see him.

 

 

Many meadowlarks singing on this warm winter day.  It’s just great to see them stand right up there and sing their little hearts out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure what this mother raccoon is up to.  She walks right along the road by the alligator pond.   Perhaps she stands up to see if they look restless.  Then she proceeds on and walks right by us.

 

 

 

 

The gray clouds are starting to gather and lower. 
The sky is turning pink just up from the horizon.

 

Looking another direction, the clouds almost look like snow covered mountains in the distance.  This is just a perfect place for cloud watching.

 

 

Time to walk back to the bikes and watch the sun get squeezed in between the clouds.

 

 

Tomorrow we say good bye to Kissimmee Prairie but it has foiled too many of our desires so we will definitely have to make a return date.