Most people have heard about Bruno, the traveling bear that was made his way across Iowa in 2020.
Not many heard about the aggitated alligator that made his way up the Mississippi and roaming around our area. They named the alligator, Chewy and the authorities said Chewy was on the loose and wreaking havoc in the Quad Cities.
I thought to myself, I can't believe an alligator would travel this far North and I certainly don't want to run into him.
The day went on and I forgot all about Bruno and Chewy and decided to get outside and go for a hike. As I was heading out the door I grabbed my hiking backpack packed with all of my essentials. What's inside my trusty backpack you ask: bug spray, water, granola bar, flashlight, band aids, magnet, and dental floss.
While strolling along I heard an odd noise in the distance. I wasn't quite sure what it was. I stopped walking for a minute to listen closer, nothing. I figured it must have been the wind and moved on. I took a few more steps and heard the same noise and it was getting closer. The leaves around me started to move. I froze not sure what my next move should/would be, the ruckus was right next to me. OH MY WORD! AN ALLIGATOR!!! It was Chewy! How do I survive this!
My quick thinking and survival skills kicked in. I quickly grabbed my backpack, open it up not sure what to grab. I think to myself what can I defend myself with against an alligator.... my granola bar. Chewy devoured the granola bar is 1 bite and started to move towards me. For whatever reason the alligator stopped for a second, I took that opportunity to reach into my backpack and pull out my trusty dental floss.
The alligator lunged towards me and started to the death roll. Luck was on my side the alligator grabbed a log instead of me and I was able to start wrapping my trusty dental floss around the alligator while he rolled. After several minutes the rolling stopped. Chewy was laying upside down wrapped in dental floss. As you can see victory was mine!
Please enjoy the beauty of nature. I found this spot to be amazing and all I could think is this looks like an upside down alligator.
Park hours: Sunrise until 10:00 PM daily
Permission was granted by Candace Ritchie at Black Hawk State Park.