The Wandering Disciple

Hop aboard the camo bus and take a ride through the wilderness at the Babcock Ranch Eco-Tours in rural Charlotte County. The 90-minute adventure takes you through a working cattle ranch where you will encounter unspoiled Florida wilderness and the wildlife that lives in it.  The McAdow family settled in the region in the late 1890's and settled the Crescent B Ranch. The 156,000 acre ranch was acquired by Edward Babcock in 1914 and became Babcock Ranch. Today, the working ranch has shrunk in size by development but the most sensitive lands have been preserved and are able to be visited as part of the eco-tours.  Taken: October 25, 2013 at Babcock Ranch Eco-Tours (Punta Gorda, FL)

Sunning on the bank, a bunch of little alligator keep warm in the Florida sunshine. Once a gator reaches 4 feet in length, they no longer have any natural predators besides human and larger gators. Until then, the younger gators have a colored banding on their tail that help them to hide in the brush of riverbanks link this.. See how well the real small gators blend into the dirt and brush of this photo. How many gators can you see in this photo? (Photo: December 24, 2018)

A butterfly pollinates a wildflower along the trail at the Babcock Wilderness Preserve. While most people think of bees when it comes to pollination, butterflies are also an important part of the pollination process. (Photo: October 25, 2013)

A honey bee is hard at work pollinating a wildflower at the Babcock Ranch in eastern Charlotte County.  Visitor's can take a tour of this working ranch and see how life was life for the original Florida crackers who farmed the land to provide for their family and their community. (October 25, 2013)

A baby gator blends in with the brush, a great defense against predators. Baby gators feature light color stripes helping them to camouflage against the lakeside brush. As the gator grows, these colors will darken. (Photo: October 25, 2013)

A baby gator hides in the brush along a creek at the Babcock Ranch in eastern Charlotte County. (Photo: October 25, 2013)

A Sandhill Crane crosses a field at the Babcock Ranch in eastern Charlotte County.  Visitor's to the ranch can take the Babcock Wilderness Adventure, a buggy ride deep into the ranch where you can see an abundance of wildlife. (Photo: October 25, 2013)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from Donten Photography. Today's Thanksgiving theme photo of the day as an Osceola Turkey at Babcock Wilderness Adventure. (Photo: October 25, 2013)

Punta Gorda, Florida: Lost in history is the town of Rouxville and the rich lumber industry created by industrial pioneer EV Babcock. But in it’s place is the hidden gem of the Crescent B Ranch, home of the Babcock Wilderness Adventure. Sit back and take a buggy ride into the heart of the wilderness where you will see wild animals and learn about the history of the Babcock Florida Company. Located in Eastern Charlotte County, Babcock Wilderness Adventure is a 1 1/2 hour buggy tour through the Crescent B Ranch. The ranch founded in 1914 by lumber giant EV Babcock for the Babcock Florida Company. Babcock Florida Company would provide lumber harvesting and create the logging town Rouxville on the property. In it’s prime, Rouxville had almost 200 residents working and living on the 156,000 acre property. To adapt to the changing times, the ranch began to be used for cattle ranching and farming. In the 1940’s, the Babcock family sold 65,000 acres of the property to the State of...

An alligator makes a move towards the water at Babcock Ranch. The eco-tour takes you deep into 90,000 working ranch where you can see gator and much more. Check back later for more photos from our trip to the Babcock Wilderness Adventure today. (Photo: October 25, 2013)