Wakulla Springs

After Pensacola, we stopped in Tallahassee.  Why Tallahassee, you say?  Because it is half way between the west and east coasts of northern Florida, and is a reasonable driving distance.  Also, a friend had recommended, very highly, Wakulla Springs State Park, just south of Tallahassee.  I had been looking forward to seeing it for a long time, and it lived up to all the hype.

Wakulla Springs is one of the deepest and largest freshwater springs in the world.  It gushes an amazing 400,000 gallons of water per minute.  Can you believe it?  Florida has more springs than any other region in the world, because of its limestone base and karst hydrogeology.  Wakulla Springs has changed in the last several years - it is not as clear as it used to be.  At one time, the water was so clear, glass bottom boats were used to view the bottom of the spring, at a depth of 180 feet.  This rarely happens now.  The reason, in part, is because of invasive aquatic plants (hydrilla) and green algae that are replacing the native species.  Another reason is pollution, of course.  In addition, Florida has had less rain in the last few years, and Florida's aquifers are being drained more quickly (by people) than the water can be regenerated.  Familiar story?  Wakulla Springs is also notable for being the most studied freshwater spring in the world.

Wakulla Springs is still a beautiful place, and very popular.  The water is always 68 degrees.  The day we were there was a beautiful day - about 80 degrees, low humidity, and the water was as refreshing as it looks.

Lee and I took a boat tour of the river created by the spring:

 

 I thought some people might like to experience the river from the boat, so here are a couple of videos.  The first shows the river, the majestic bald cypress trees draped in Spanish moss, and a flock of American coots (the birds with white bills).  The camera then swings to an Osprey in a tree, at about the center of the frame.  At the end is a small bird with a bright orange and yellow beak - this is a common moorhen, of which there were many on the river that day.  The voice in the background is our very enthusiastic guide.  Turn off the sound if you don't want to hear her.  The scene was absolutely magical.

Click here for video

I took a second video which doesn't jump around nearly as much, and should be easier to watch.  The river here is darker and more protected.  It is a portion of the river that has appeared in a couple of well-known movies.  The section of the river in the first half of the video appeared in Tarzan way back when, and the Creature of the Black Lagoon was filmed in the river that appears in the second half of the video.

Click here for second video 

Here are a few more still photos of the river:

Female Anhinga sitting on the "knee" of a cypress:

Can you find the alligator in the photo below?

There it is, enjoying the sunshine:

We saw several alligators.  The guide said there are about 400 in the park, and it is not a very large park.  Watch the short video below for a small  alligator swimming leisurely.  (On my iPhone, it looks like an alligator.  In the video here, it looks like a log.  My apologies.)

The highlight of the tour was a female alligator guarding her young.  Her nest was several feet away from her, but the guide said she was a very attentive mom.

My photo of the babies is horrible, but look for the vertical white/yellow stripes.  Those stripes run down both sides of each alligator.  Those give you an idea of where the babies are.  If you look carefully on the lower right side of the photo, you may actually see a small green head.  These little guys are only 12 to 15 inches long, and only 20% of them will survive the first year.

We also saw something very typical, several turtles lined up on a log, taking in the sun.  I have never seen quite so many at once though.

Here's a last view of the river:

All the kids were lined up to dive off the tower.  Popular place!

I have to say, a place like this is far better than Disneyland.  It is so achingly beautiful, and real. 

The friend who recommended Wakulla Springs also recommended honey from a nearby home.  So we drove a couple of miles down the road, turned right onto a dirt road, very bumpy, and found the house.  Behind the house was a small structure of shelves with bottles of honey, and a jar into which a buyer was to deposit his/her money.  I bought a bottle of Tupelo honey, and deposited my money.  I tried it when we returned to the RV, and boy, was it good!  Sweet with a twinge of something different, a little tartness.  It is P. Owen honey, whose slogan is "the Cadillac of all honey!".  Good stuff.

I asked my friend how in the world she ever found this place, and she said "I got lost!"  I am glad she did.  

The next post will be of Charleston, South Carolina, which is where we are as I write this.