Florida alligator

We Are On A Quest To Find Our First Florida Alligator, Day 166

This may sound a little strange, but we are on the search to see our first Florida Alligator.

Over the past several days, on our drive through the Florida Panhandle, we would catch ourselves peering out the windows more than normal. Of course, this is in the off-chance of seeing an alligator in the swamp lands along the road.

Although we know this was highly impossible, we still kept looking as we drove from place to place.

driving in Florida
On our way through the panhandle and down to Lakeland, Florida, we have kept an eye out our window to see if we could find an alligator.

But now that we are in Central Florida, we are determined to see our first Alligator on this trip.

Florida Alligators

And we aren’t talking about the baby alligators that you can hold at the local, roadside orange juice stand.

We are talking, native alligators that are found in the rivers, lakes, swamps, and marshes.

However, beyond popular belief, the majority of the alligators are not found along alligator alley in southern Florida.

roadside Florida Alligator
Yes, we have seen plenty of baby alligators as part of roadside attractions, but we are looking for the large, native alligators.

In fact, the highest population is found around the Gainesville area. And yes, this is home to the University of Florida, a.k.a. The Florida Gators.

And when we heard that last year in Lakeland, Florida, there was an 11 foot alligator that snatched a 100 pound pit bull in a retention pond, we decided to take a closer look.

So we are now on a foot quest to see if we can spot an alligator. However, from a distance, of course.

swamp
There are plenty of swamps, marshes, lakes and rivers in central Florida where we can look for our gator.

So today we are heading out to Circle B Bar Reserve to see what we can find.

Circle B Bar Reserve

The Circle B Bar Reserve sits on the northwest shore of Lake Hancock in central Florida. It is a former cattle ranch and today it is the home to a wide variety of plants and animals.

Throughout the 1,267 acres of property you can find several hiking trails on boardwalks through thick oak canopies. And rumor has it that it is almost guaranteed that you will see alligators.

Circle B Bar boardwalk
We are confident that we will find an alligator as we walk along the boardwalk of Circle B Bar Reserve.

So today, we are going to take our chances and go on an hunt for Florida alligators! Wish us luck!

Happy Traveling! Jim and Mary

CURRENT TRIP STATUS TO DATE:

  • Day 166 of 365
  • States : 21/50
  • National Parks / Monuments : 20
  • Stayed In : Winter Haven, Florida
  • Miles Driven : 50.0
  • Total Trip Miles To Date : 17,858.7
  • Total Gallons Used : 1284.8
  • Biking Miles : 0.0
  • Biking Miles To Date : 158.4
  • Hiking Miles : 2.1
  • Hiking Miles To Date : 376.0

On September 9th, 2019, we set out in our NuCamp T@B 400 Teardrop Camper to travel to every state. You can check out all of our dates here : Dates for the States

You can follow along by signing up for our twice weekly email updates at the bottom of the page. You can also follow us on Facebook : Live Simple Tour Facebook and Instagram : Live Simple Now Instagram Page.

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