February 25-26, 2018 Silver Springs and Juniper Springs, Florida

86 and mostly sunny. Lazy day reading and working on my basket.

Finished the little one, 4 x 2 1/2 inches, with a iridescent shell center. Working now on one with a limpet shell center and am working on adding the glass beads now.

Sunset tonight from camp.

We boated Juniper Springs creek today. It is a 7 mile narrow, twisting waterway set under the dense canopy of old growth forest and lush tropical vegetation through a wilderness area.  The brochure says 'This canoe trip is NOT for beginners'.  You have to be alert the whole time for submerged logs that can flip you and overhanging branches. Lots of rules, no disposable containers, no pets, no alcohol, no swimming and no wading.  The pool and campground were built by the CCC at the head of the springs. That is the only part you can swim in. John putting in. 

The first 2 1/2 miles are narrow and winding with the channel scarcely wider than 6 feet.

Twisted palm trees and John ahead of me. The water is crystal clear and shallow here. 

John taking a photo. Large cypress trees.  

John took this of me behind him and this is John with overhanging branches.  

Overhanging palms. I survived Juniper run on a t-shirt in the gift shop. We did not see any alligators, but there are there. We did see this big rat snake, it took off, swam to the other side and hid. Waterside fern. Above us were some maple trees with red seeds. When the wind blew they blew off and spiraled down on us, an iris and a turtle, we saw tons of turtles.  

Stand of iris. Farther down the run it widened out with more big trees.  

Me still behind John. John in a wide section with the red maple seeds above him.  

Near the end was this rapid. 

February 24, 2018 Silver Springs, Florida

86 degrees and sunny. We went to Silver Springs State Park. It is right across the street from where we are camped and the main spring is where we paddled to yesterday.

Silver Springs is another of the old attractions in Florida that used to be around before Disneyland. In 1878 the glass bottomed boat was invented here that gave visitors a unique and spectacular view of the springs.  After WWI visitors packed their model T's and headed to Florida for the golden age of  roadside attractions until 1960 when Disney arrived. A few attractions survived and became state parks including Silver springs. Welcome to Silver Springs.On the left is where you pick up your ride in the glass bottomed boats, to the right are the gift shop, restaurant, ice cream parlor and museum. It was an award winning design in it's time. 

John and I at Silver Springs state park 2018. The spring is the one we paddled to yesterday. It produces 550 million gallons of water a day that heads down the Silver River to the atlantic ocean. 

Safety advisory: Rhesus monkeys are found in the park, do not approach or feed them. They were released in the early 1900 to give visitors a thrill on the glass bottomed boat rides.  They have no predators and have multiplied since then.They now are aggressive and carry diseases. Alligators  no swimming, and if that is not enough wild animals there are also black bears- be bear aware. Many movies were filmed here including parts of the Creature of the Black Lagoon, the creature's costume, and Underwater starring Jane Russell with skin diver action and aqua lung thrills. Even some of the Tarzan series was filmed here. Some of the vintage stained glass windows, an azalea blossom and wood sorrels flowers. 

Camillas in the gardens, a visitor in the children's frog slide,and some white blossoms.  John eating an ice cream cone -his lunch- inside the coiled up palm tree.  

White flowers on a bush, wild tortoise, and resurrection ferns growing on a palm tree trunk.  Although set in the ocean the classic  1958-1961 TV series Sea Hunt starring Lloyd Bridges filmed many scenes at Silver Springs, from the Sea Hunt Deck here. John in the Sea Hunt Poster.

This is part of the same river we paddled yesterday, from the bridges and boardwalks near the beginning of the river. 

We toured the Silver Springs Museum too. There was a natural history section with the prehistoric animals and indians in this area, plus history of the springs. Also the historic Cracker Village. The Crackers were the cowboys who herded cows with whips that they cracked over their backs. There was also an Indian village at the resort too, Seminole Indians lived in these thatched 'chickees' and sewed souvenirs sold here to the tourists. Seminoles were known for their sewing and quilting work. 

We  hiked  the river and the swamp trails. All told John's GPS recorded that we walked 8 miles seeing the park. There is also a campground we checked out. It like all the rest of Florida's State parks are full way in advance. 

Afterwards  we  went to beautiful historic downtown Ocala  to visit the Infinite Ale works brewery and have dinner. 

February 23, Silver Springs, Florida

85 and sunny. We paddled Silver River, the spring run from Silver Springs. The spring is one of the largest artesian springs in the world. The water comes out of the ground at 72 degrees and is crystal clear or aquamarine in the right light. It is spring here, all the deciduous trees are spring green with new leaves. We paddled up from the bottom of the Silver River where it meets the Ocklawaha river. 5 miles up to the head spring and 5 miles back. Really beautiful.

Welcome to Silver Springs state park, don't swim with the alligators, at the spring yield to the glass bottomed boats, and watch for manatees. A manatee swam under my boat- it is bigger than the boat and surfaced right next to me. Anhinga drying it's wings, alligator, and a row of turtles on a log. We saw over 100 turtles, even a couple swimming under our boats.  

Immature Ibis, white flowers, monarch butterfly and a sunbathing turtle. They lay with their legs outstretched sometimes. John ahead of me on the river with three turtles on a log in the foreground. 

Purple pickerel weed, hemlock flowers, and either eggs or snails. It is spring and the greenery is lovely. 

Greenery ahead of my boat. Buttressed cypress trees and blue green water. The water is so clear you can see the grasses under the water.

The vines on the trees are poison ivy. Aquamarine water. 

John ahead of me. 

I can't get enough of the color of the water.  White heron, red cardinal flower, violet, and swamp lilies. 

This photo has an alligator, small young alligators, on the log in the center right are about 5 turtles and there are two moorhens behind the alligator. One stop wildlife viewing. Water and trees.

I am right above the deepest part of the spring, it is 40 feet deep and you can see my paddle to the left, the reflection of my paddle and below that you can make out the shadow of me and my boat, 40 feet below. Amazing. Cormorant drying it's wings, moorhen with it's red beak and a little blue heron reflected.

Turtle framed in the doorway of a submerged shed, spanish moss on a maple tree with bright red seeds and spring green leaves, alligator and wood duck. Yellow pond lilies. 

Trees and turquoise water.  

John took this of me paddling down the river.  Yellow pond lilies and an big alligator.