Chillin' with wild horses

I just realized I haven't updated this blog in a long time!

So today Alex Catalano and I went to Paynes Prairie, Gainesville, Fla., to find some bison. We decided that if we stuck to the pathways, we would only end up where other people had already been. And how much fun is that, really? So instead, we battled our way through miles and miles of torturous shrubs and hallowed-out tree debris. (I realize the photos don't make it look so horrible, but that's because these were all taken on the trip there and are mainly of the more pleasant moments).

For the first couple hours we only came across a turtle and some turkeys, birds and a snake. But nothing too exciting. No bison. But then we came across a herd of wild horses, and, thinking like hunters rather than photographers, circled the herd and approached cautiously. This spooked them, and they ran.

However, having learned from our mistake and more determined than ever to get a little closer, Alex and I approached a second herd drinking from a stream nearby. Rather than circling the horses and making them feel trapped, we stayed together this time and kept our distance, creeping inches at a time. The horses didn't seem to be too frightened - they sort of looked pretty curious - but soon walked off a little farther from where we stood. This time we walked together around some shrubs to face them, and lo and behold, they approached us cautiously and began poking and sniffing. And although they weren't bison, this made the journey there worth it ... or so we thought.

After the photo session with wild horses, we began our long and arduous trek back. Long story short, we got lost (kinda), came out onto the highway three miles down from the entrance to Paynes Prairie (which is still two miles from where we parked the car), ran out of water, knocked on an old woman's door, asked for water, she seemed very sketched out by us, but water was becoming an issue and we had no choice, she gave us water, we thanked her, began walking, realized we still had miles to go in the blistering sun, tried hitchhiking but weren't successful, finally went to a store where some men were drinking beer, asked them for a ride, they were friendly, one gave us a ride back to the entrance of the park, we jumped from his truck bed, thanked him, begged the park ranger to take us the final two-mile trip back to the car, hopped in the back of his truck, got a ride, arrived 20 feet from the car, walked 20 feet, finally drove home, and then spent half an hour scraping dirt off my feet in the shower.

And I don't regret a single minute of it!