Hogtown Creek

"The Hogtown Creek Watershed is located in the northwest and southwest quadrants of Gainesville and is one of the largest watersheds in the area, encompassing approximately 20 square miles of urban and suburban Gainesville. The University of Florida and Gainesville High School are located within this basin. Hogtown Creek has numerous tributaries, with four of the largest being Possum Creek, Springstead Creek, Rattlesnake Branch, and Elizabeth Creek. These four tributaries all join the creek in the area between NW 39th Avenue and University Avenue. Relief is high in the watershed and in many areas the creek and tributaries are deeply incised. Phosphate pebbles and fossils, such as shark’s teeth, dugong rib bones, and shell molds and casts, are frequently found in the streambed."

Uhhuh. There really is a Hogtown. Was the name of Gainesville before being dropped in favor of honoring General Edmund Gaines, but Hogtown survives as the name of various creeks and woodlands. Moving out of Gainesville proper and into Micanopy and Paines Prairie...where the actual borders are no one really knows...deposits one in swamp then there's swamp and you might even find some swamp. Gator, smallish bear, largish pig, are the bigger wildlife that one can run across although I've never seen any bear but they tell me I just haven't been looking hard enough. There's even a local bigfoot, referred to as the Skunk Ape and generally seen in the Everglades but the Slaughter brothers tell me that Hogtown has one or two of them as well, and that they stand near on 8' tall and are covered with bright red hair.

I wouldn't be surprised. If Rosie O'Donnell can exist then anything can. One of these days I'll take the camera out with me and pass along some local flavor. Might even snap one of the Slaughter brothers if I can get 'em to stand still long enough.