Gainesville Familiarization Trip

In getting familiar with the Gainesville, Florida area we came across two oddities.  The first was from the Atlas Obscura web site and the second got stumbled upon during Lori’s many internet searches. 
Atlas Obsura led us to the University of Florida bat houses.  The bat houses are the world’s largest occupied bat houses.  They are located on the north side of Museum Road between Village Drive and Radio Road across from Lake Alice, on the campus of the university. Mostly populated by the Brazilian free-tailed bat, the bat house and barn are also home to Southeastern and Evening bats.
The original colony of bats was discovered after a fire destroyed Johnson Hall in 1987. The nearly 5,000 bats who had lived there then took up residence at several campus stadium locations. Though the musky odor of the bats and rain of guano during evening games didn’t please fans, it wasn’t until Governor Bob Martinez complained of the odor while attending an athletic event at Griffin Stadium that university officials decided something had to be done.
The first bat house was constructed in 1991. The stadiums were fitted with bat excluders, which allowed the bats to leave but not to return to roost. At first try, approximately 3,000 bats were caught in cages and relocated to the newly built bat house. Most of the bats left after only a night or two. In 1995, after years of using excluders at various campus locations and a variety of techniques to get the bats to stay at the house and the colony continued to grow. In 2009, the internal structure of the house collapsed from the weight of the bats and additional roosting modules that were added to the original design. The internal structure of the house was rebuilt and the first Bat Barn added in 2010. The second Bat Barn was completed in February 2017 to replace the original Bat House, which has deteriorated beyond repair. UF plans to remove the original Bat House at a future date.
The current population, estimated to be 450,000-500,000 bats (the houses can hold 750,000!!!), consumes more than 2.5 billion insects (more than 2,500 pounds) a night.

 
We decided to view an evening emergence of the bats to go on their feeding frenzy.  The bats normally emerge during a 15- to 20-minute period after sunset, before total darkness on calm, warm evenings when temperatures are above 65 F. Bats may swoop near those observing the emergence to eat insects attracted to the carbon dioxide in human breath; however they will not attack or harm people when left alone. High winds, heavy rain or cold temperatures will keep the bats in the house for the evening. On warm winter evenings, the bats may come out for a drink of water at the lake and exercise; however they can eat only when bugs are flying. The best seasons for observing the emergence are spring through early summer, when days are increasing in length. During this time, the bats emerge sooner after sunset while there is a longer period of twilight. To gain the best perspective of the bats’ emergence, watch the western sky over the pine trees and around the street lights on Museum Road. The shadows from the trees north of the house obscure the view of the bats’ emergence.

Our next stop was an eclectic eatery.  Lori found this in an internet search and was attracted to their outdoor fountain which is in itself a work of art! Satchel's Pizza opened on March 7th, 2003. Their mission is to make great food in a beautiful atmosphere and serve up something for all the senses.  At Satchels you can eat in a van, under a plane, or in a greenhouse. Enjoy Satch made stained glass windows, local art, homemade sodas, and live music. There's even a a playground for the kids to help them work up an appetite.  Satchel (Satch) was born in Gainesville, but grew up mostly in Jacksonville until after high school then he attended UF. He returned to Gainesville after some years of travel. 

 

Being an artist who fell in love with pizza as a teenager working at the local Italian restaurant his life's ambition has always been to have a pizzeria but also to make a living as an artist.   Satchels Pizza is equal parts restaurant and art gallery.  Since it was a Sunday when we went to check it out we could not try the food.  Satchel’s is closed on Sunday and Monday.  The external art work is impressive as is the décor.  From the fountain that attracted us to the 1960(ish) Ford van setup as a dining room Satchels is a place to be enjoyed.  The place is set up with great detail from hand painted pavers on the walks to the hub cap garden.  This is certainly a place for us to return to so we can actually try the food.  If it’s as good as the art it will be terrific.