Dawns bloggy blog: March 2011

Howdee all,

While in Silver Springs,Florida, Jeff and I spent the day in Silver River State Park.

The park has a beautiful campground~it is booked months in advance and I wasn't able to get a reservation.

It was a Thursday, when arrived we were told the river would be busy on the weekends, so if we wanted to take the canoe ride to the springs…today would be the day to do it.

So… for five dollars and hour…a three hour trip…we decided to go.

It is a half mile walk to the river from the parking lot.

Notice Jeff wearing shorts..he only wears shorts when it is hot…and the last few weeks while in Florida the temps were mid to high 80s.

We passed this fella walking on the path…I decided not to have it for lunch ..:)Jeff unlocking our canoe.This is where we put in…Beautiful river…mellow..we paddle up river …A bit of a wind made it slow going in a few places…But all in all it is a very easy paddle…With beautiful scenes…I was in the front of the canoe…

We passed all kinds of wildlife…Great EgretCommon Moorhen A tour boat passes us…A Great Blue Heron fishes…I love the cypress knees….And the patches of green weed…Double~crested CormorantLook at the hairdoo…hee hee..Beautiful blue eyes..

We arrive at the spring area…A theme park is at the beginning of the spring

Silver Springs Theme park

They have glass bottom boat tours…To view the crystal clear waters of the springClear Blue….

The Silver River runs through the center of this 5,000-acre Theme park. The spring head is still run by the private company "Silver Springs Nature Theme Park" but the rest of the entire 5 1/2 mile spring run is completely pristine and undeveloped.

Silver Springs is the site of one of the largest artesian spring formations in the world, producing nearly 550 million gallons of crystal-clear water daily

Looks like a great place for a swim…though , not allowed.We leave the springs and head back to the State park…On the way back I spotted a Rhesus monkey on the fence…and we looked around and saw around fifteen…three babies playing..

There is also a colony of non-native Rhesus Macaques which were introduced to the park in early 1938 by a tour boat operator, known locally as "Colonel Tooey," to enhance his "Jungle Cruise" ride. A local legend that they are the descendants of monkeys used to enhance the scenery for the Tarzan movies that were shot in the area in the 1930s is not true. Via Wikipedia

Monkey being preened….

Iris flowering in large masses on the sides of the river…Our route back to the park~all downstream..an easy float…Pied-billed GrebeI thought this looked like a birds body….White IbisLittle Blue Heron

Entering the State Park..Reflections…Turtles……….Dinosaur…Gnarly…Its after noon and we see more people on the river…

We had the first part of the trip pretty much to ourselves…Well, except for a gator or two..

And Birds..And..turtles…And an occasional visitor on the boat…I think this may be Cardinal flower…Iris and wood sculptures…The ride is almost over…It has been a delightful three hours..I highly recommend this trip…Easy…beautiful…and full of wildlife..After our canoe ride ..we took a short walk…