Bill Takes A Plunge

Besides the wonderful Federal Campground, what brings most visitors to the Salt Springs Recreational Area is the Salt Springs themselves.  The presence of certain minerals and sodium in the waters of the spring give the spring a slight salinity, hence the name Salt Springs.

Although the weather has not exactly been tropical, (mid 60s daytime to low 40s at night), Bill decided it was time to get a closer look at the springs than what you see above.

 

A quick search of a storage area in the trailer yielded some snorkeling equipment, the weather was sunny, so Friday looked like a good day for a swim to explore the spring.

 

We were told that the water temperature was 72 degrees, (the same as Blue Spring) and it was certainly warmer than the air.  The visibility in the water was fantastic.

 

There were plenty of fish to see and most were unafraid of a human swimmer.  The large deep fissures where the springs were flowing upward were eerie to swim over and a bit spooky to look into.  It was a fun experience to explore the spring and Bill plans to take another swim on Saturday.

A Strange Roadside Business Causes Us to Stop

On Thursday, February 5th, we ran out of allotted days at Blue Spring State Park.  To fill a few days before out next reservation north of Daytona Beach we decided to head back to our favorite campground in Florida, so far, at Salt Springs.

On the way we saw these creatures that looked like a scene out of "Jurassic Park".

 

We had to pull over because there was just too much to drive by!  The figures were not made of plastic.  They were all made of metal and beautiful in detail.

 

When we walked inside the fence we saw about a acre of what you see above.  It was interesting but overwhelming.  They had about any creature you could imagine and a few you could not imagine.

 

 The figures were not imported - there was a forging and welding operation going out back.  A buyer could pick out any figure and they would make it and paint it to his specifications.  The business was on a remote road and did not even have a sign out front.  We decided you never know what you might see in Florida.

A Few Unimportant Facts You May Not Know

On Wednesday we watched a slide show presentation about manatees put on by the Blue Spring State Park.  The park expert then answered questions.  Below are a few facts we learned:

The water temperature of the spring is 72 degrees year around.  Even though the river is cold the manatees go into it each day to feed on plants.  A manatee can weigh up to 2000 lbs.  They eat a tenth of their body weight each day.  In 1972 there were eleven manatees in the spring.  Today the number is close to 400.  They are no longer on the endangered list, but now on the protected list of animals.  The biggest danger to manatees are "boat strikes" where they are hit by the propellers of speed boats.

Because of their size, alligators tend to leave the adult manatees alone.  The babies, however, are sometimes eaten.  Manatees from Blue Spring have been found in the summer as far north as Cape Cod.

The tall trees above are the state tree of Florida.  They are Sabal Palms also know as Cabbage Palmetto.

The green bunches of vegetation at the top of these dormant trees along the river are Mistletoe. 

 

The white birds in these trees are Ibis.

 

That concludes this session of forgettable information.

 

A Nature Cruise on the St. Johns River

On Tuesday afternoon we boarded this large pontoon boat with about thirty other park visitors for a guided nature tour.

 

This is Captain Peter who drove the boat and did the narration on the tour.

 

We saw a lot of Florida wildlife in their natural setting.  This Red-bellied Turtle was larger than any turtle we had seen in Michigan.

You had to keep a sharp lookout as we slowly moved along.  Do you see anything in the vegetation above?

 

Here is same river bank with the camera zoomed in.  He/she was not the only large alligator we saw.

These little gators were sunning themselves and did not seem to care if they had their picture taken.

 So......

The St. Johns River Cruise turned out to be a fun two-hour experience at a very reasonable price!

If you ever come to Blue Spring State Park be sure to take it.

 

 



Blue Spring State Park

This picture shows how Blue Spring is kept separate from the St. John's River.  All boats and fishing  activities must stay outside the floating barrier.

The fishing was good off the dock.  As we watched, this cute girl who was fishing with her father and brother caught this fish.  She was bashful but finally agreed to pose with her prize.

In the state park is this large old house that is open to the public for self-guided tours.  It belonged to the original owner of the land here at the spring named Louis Thursby.  He had nine children, including one who died after being bitten by a rattlesnake while playing under the house.  Notice that the architecture is similar to DeBary Hall from a few days ago in this blog.

 

Not to be outdone by all the attention in the Blue Spring-- Karen got this manatee to come out for a picture with her.  She makes friends everywhere we go.

Blue Spring

On Super Bowl Sunday we only had to drive about 15 miles north to arrive at Blue Spring State Park which is close to Orange City, Florida.

It was a very popular place and we had to wait about 10 minutes in a line of vehicles just to get in to register for our camp site.  You will see why below....

 

As soon as we set up camp and walked to the crystal clear spring we saw this.  Neither of us had ever seen a manatee in the wild before.  There were many to watch along the 1/3 mile boardwalk.

 

This posted sign explained to us what is going on here.

 

The manatees were, of course, the main attraction but there was a multitude of other fish to see as well.

 

These large, silent, slow-moving creatures were fascinating to watch.  Here are two adults with a youngster on top clinging to his mama.

 

We Explore the Volusia County Bike/Walk Trail

Saturday was a sunny day in the low 70s, so off we rode down the seven-mile paved trail.

 

In about three miles we came upon this county park that was bigger than the one in which we are camping.  It had a large open area and numerous picnic sites.  It was busy from the use of many families enjoying the beautiful weather.

 

The clear spring at Gemini Park had plenty of these fish nests being guarded by their makers.  The fish were large - we found out they were Tilapia.  We watched as they fiercely chased away pan fish that came too close.  There were signs that read "NO FISHING".

 

  

 

Across the highway from Gemini Park was this small Memorial Garden dedicated to POWs and MIAs.  It was created by the local VFW and the town of DeBary.

 

 At mile marker seven we came to this beautiful, county-owned, restored mansion known as DeBary Hall.  It was built in the 1870s by a Mr. DeBary from New York who was a rich wine merchant.  It was his winter home.

 

We were allowed to wander around the premises but not go inside.  Here is Karen on the front porch pretending to be Scarlett O'Hara.

Volusia County Florida has a great county park system!

 

 When we returned from our bike trip we found this modern rail stop across the street from Lake Monroe Park, where we are staying.  For about $7.00 you can get a round-trip ticket to downtown Orlando with bus connections as well.