Observation Tower

We had a great time visiting the Paynes Prairie. There were so many birds of prey in the area as well as a number of wading birds. We spent an entire day watching birds with binoculars and trying to figure out what they were. There were several birders in the area who helped us with identification. The wild horses were very close to the tower and we could see the bison in the distance using binoculars.

I never get tired of visiting this tower and enjoying the panoramic beauty of Paynes Prairie. Nestled into a boundary tree-line at the edge of the prairie, the views are well worth the short walk from the visitors center. Today, we finally saw some of the legendary wild Buffalo that live in the area!

Awesome view!

The view is majestic and the experience even better!

I'd been to Paynes Prairie a few months ago when passing through Florida. However, it being late in the afternoon there was no ranger to make any exploratory suggestions. This time the ranger at the entrance gate ($4 admission) told me about the observation tower at the far end of the main road into the park. Found the tower and it was a perfect day for photographs, so with my tripod I took this awesome photograph. It is actually 9 separate photographs (allowing me to get sharper focus from the far distance all the way up to the tower), blended together into one. Oh yes, I had the whole tower to myself, since it was a weekday. See what I saw in this composite photograph that I took. Beautiful!