Will I ever capture this creature on camera?

I’ve been camping off and on since January, amazing trips that have brought me as far south as the Florida Keys and soon I’ll be going west to Texas. These adventures include my favorite pups, Piper and Asia…

…and a Sony A6600 that I use for photographing everything from horses to a hole-in-one. I almost got a picture of buffalo in central Florida. I just barely missed a clear picture of a jumping alligator in the Myakka River. But (humble brag forthcoming) I’ve never taken a bad picture of an armadillo! Well, it’s confession time (embarrassing explanation of why I’ve never taken a bad picture of an armadillo forthcoming)… I’ve also never taken a GOOD picture of an armadillo. Truthfully, that’s pretty much the one animal I’m dying to photograph. But to this very day, the good fortune of seeing one while I have my camera eludes me. Are armadillos quick? Not really. Are they uncommon? No. I’m just never in the right place at the right time. 

I’m currently camping in Fontainebleau State Park, across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. I’ve taken pictures of things around the park. Trees. A pier. Stuff that everyone else has taken pictures of already for years and years, I’m sure. But what’s the one thing I’m really hoping to photograph? 

You got it. A big bowl of gumbo. 

No, it’s an armadillo! I’m setting out again today to find the elusive armored ones. Wish me luck. 

-Out of the Wilderness