Big Shoals State Park

White Springs, Florida

We slept in until 7am this morning, had a couple cups of coffee and got out the door by about 8:30 am.  That’s a record for us lately.  We seem to have good intentions, but manage to piddle around too long in the morning and don’t manage to get out the door until late morning.

Our goal was to explore Big Shoals State Park.  It’s a a day use park and offers no camping facilities.  

They  have one work camper site though that is very nice.  The only problem I see with the site is the sewer hook up is next door.   It appears that you have to either have a real long sewer hose, or move your Rv to dump your tanks.  It would be a wonderful place to volunteer.

Here is the description of the state park from their website:

Big Shoals State Park features the largest whitewater rapids in Florida. Limestone bluffs, towering 80 feet above the banks of the Suwannee River, afford outstanding vistas not found anywhere else in Florida. When the water level on the Suwannee River is between 59 and 61 feet above mean sea level, the Big Shoals rapids earn a Class III Whitewater classification, attracting thrill-seeking canoe and kayak enthusiasts. Over 28 miles of wooded trails provide opportunities for hiking, biking, horseback riding and wildlife viewing.

 

There is a 3.4 mile long paved trail called the Woodpecker trail.  We did a short walk on it, but it didn’t go near the river, so we headed back after about half a mile.  Al was wondering what his heart rate was since we were walking pretty fast.  Let me see now…maybe Droid knows?  Sure enough there is an App (several actually) so that you can check your heart rate!   Later we wondered how far we had gone and didn’t have our little gps with us.  I checked the Apps and found several of those as well.  Yesterday we found the compass we were looking for and today these two apps.  I think you just have to keep your mind open to the possibility of what you may want and check.  Chances are, there’s an app for it :)

This is the Woodpecker Trail.  It would be a nice bike trail.

We found a nice two mile round trip trail along the river to the shoals.  The river is very low and the shoals are more exposed than normal. 

The Big Shoals

Some White Ibis feeding in the low waters.

The Turkey Vultures have arrived. 

It’s a real nice park to spend a day. There is a nice picnic area and lots of trails for hikers, mountain bikers or the paved trail for regular bikes.

The temperature started to warm up and we headed into town to the Telford Hotel Bed and Breakfast.  They have a nice lunch buffet with pretty good southern cooking. 

We got some rain this afternoon and our bedroom slide is still leaking.  We were hoping we had fixed it, but apparently not.  Back to square one.

We’re leaving tomorrow so that we can be home for our Saturday garage sale.  We like getting rid of stuff and the money is kind of nice too :)  Still no offers on the house : (

Peacock Springs Slough

Mayo, Florida

We changed our plans this morning and decided to take a drive over to Peacock Springs State Park.

This is a photo I borrowed from the website.  This area is a cave diver’s paradise.  There are many underwater caves to explore.  Al and I never had any desire to do any cave diving and never took any certification classes for it.  It’s a very specialized sport and you can easily die if you’re not trained properly.  People come from all over the country and world to dive in the Florida cave system.

The park has two springs and 6 sinkholes.  Cave divers have explored and surveyed nearly 33,000 feet of underwater passages at Peacock Springs. This park features one of the longest underwater cave systems in the continental United States.

We’ve seen much prettier springs, but it was a nice day to get out and explore a little.  We talked to a couple about our age (old) who had just come up from a two hour dive.  The cave openings can be pretty small and tunnel like, and they they might open up into a large room.   A lot of cave divers have died in these caves over the years.  There is one way in and one way out and if you lose your way you’re in trouble.  If you panic and silt up the water you lose your visibility.  If your flash light quits, you lose all light.  If you run out of air, you can’t just pop up to the surface like you can in the open water. They run out of air, panic, and die deep inside the cave. Some of these caves go hundreds of feet  down and  miles and miles.  You can easily get lost.  They  have to send someone in to retrieve the dead bodies. 

This is a day use only park and mostly used by cave divers.  The springs had a covering of Duckweed  on the water which looked like green slime.  We understand that underneath that green slime was a beautiful cobalt blue water.

We talked to a female park ranger about volunteer positions.  She told us that they have river front camping all along the Suwannee and they have camp host positions.  She invited us to go down to Peacock Slough and check out the camp host site.  Was it ever nice.  The public can only access these sites by water.

We met Fred and Ann who have been volunteering there since August.  They have a real nice FHU site, with a washer/dryer, good satellite hook-up and a beautiful site right along the river.  It’s a beautiful area and they have it all to them selves except for the occasional overnighter.

Here is a view of the river.

This is a campground for people in  boats, canoes and kayaks who bring tents and just want someplace to camp for the night while paddling the Suwannee River.  There is only one campsite for rv’s and that belongs  to the camphost.  They have 6 wooden screen rooms that paddlers can stay in for free.   There is electricity, ceiling fans, grills, hooks for their clothes, water, picnic table, and a restroom and showers next door.    It’s completely free!  There is no furniture, but you can bring your sleeping bag and be pretty comfy.

A lot of the people who stay there just bring their tents right inside and spend the night.  You sure can’t beat the price!

There are also regular campsites overlooking the river, still free.

The volunteer positions fill up rather quickly and the next ones are due in November and will stay through June.  You can’t find a better campsite.

We understand there are river camps along the Suwannee River and all have host positions. 

This is a picture I took of a beautiful field of Goldenrod.  Pretty, isn’t it?

We then headed over to Madison Blue Springs State Park.  It’s another day use park and there are also underwater caves and caverns.  We saw a few divers there  there today.

It was a little late in the day so it isn’t as pretty as when the sun is right over head.  I think the photos I took last fall were better, but this is what I got today.

We headed home and hope to watch Survivor.  Our good satellite with local channels only lasted one night and  now we only get the cable channels.  We will either walk over to the clubhouse or set up our antennae for the local stations…which is my vote.

Tomorrow we plan to head over to Big Shoals State Park and explore that a little.   It’s another park on the Suwannee River.

Oh, I forgot to mention.  I had another trip and fall this morning.  I think I’m getting klutzy in my old age.  I was stepping up to go to the bathroom and m big toe got caught in my pajama leg and tripped me!  Almost hit the wall before I managed to catch myself.  Another freak accident.

Still nothing from our potential home buyer.