Florida Nature Trip

Old Jan 31st, 2016, 04:50 AM
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Florida Nature Trip

Paynes Prairie, Ocklawaha River, Florida January 22-25, 2016

A short nature hiking/kayaking getaway trip to warmer Florida with friends . . . this was a blizzard weekend in the Northeast and even middle Georgia (home for me) was predicted to be cold. Crossed Florida line on I-75 a little after noon, arrived at our first destination, Paynes Prairie State Preserve, 10 miles south of Gainesville, at 2:30. I had seen this interesting place from the interstate several times but had never made time to go into the preserve. Entrance fee was $2 per person, certainly reasonable.

Paynes Prairie is 22,000 acre wilderness area, bordering I-75 and other busy places, but at our entrance we felt a world away from that. There is a new Visitor Center under construction that looks quite fancy but our priority was to be outside, move around, and hopefully see birds, specifically sandhill cranes. It was warm, mostly overcast, and slightly breezy. We first climbed the observation tower and just got a sense of the prairie. The area we stopped in had huge old trees, hanging with Spanish moss, but we headed out into the open. We saw small birds (tree swifts, kingbirds, and unidentified warblers) in abundance, a couple of great blue heron, heard the frogs in the ditches alongside the wide trail (used for horses as well as walkers). We walked at least part of the Cone’s Dike Trail, loving the scenery but a bit disappointed that we were not instantly seeing the sandhill cranes and bison. We drove then to Chacala Pond about 5:00 to see the sun heading down and feel the colder weather coming in.

Park closes to non-campers at sunset so we hurried out and then took quick drive through the historic district of little Micanopy. There was a huge, beautiful old house that is a B&B, with nice grounds, that looked like it would be lovely place to stay & a few little shops closing up as dusk was settling in. And then, just as we were getting back on Highway 441, we saw 3 large birds flying high overhead that we realized as they disappeared must have been our sandhill cranes.

We had an excellent barbeque supper at Pearl’s (which was part of the Marathon gas station/ convenience store there). I would recommend it – for $10 I got a pile of tasty pork barbeque, good collards and fried okra. I tried my friend’s coleslaw and it was vingegary and tangy, not sweet, the way I like it. And then, in the dark, we headed out to find our lodging, Ocklawaha Canoe Outpost, near the very small town of Fort McCoy, Florida (and even nearer the little community of Eurkea, that doesn’t show on many maps). Link is http://www.outpostresort.com/accomodations.html

We had a 2 room cedar cabin with a screened porch, outside picnic table and fire ring. By the time we arrived, it was getting cold and windy, we were tired and we just hurriedly unloaded cars and tried to organize ourselves. Cabin consisted of small living room/kitchen combination with heater and a bedroom with 4 bunk beds (one a double). Living room had small futon that also made into a bed. Space was adequate for the 4 of us but wouldn’t recommend a larger group for cabin. Bathroom tiny; thankfully the sink/vanity area was in the bedroom. Bathroom heated with small space heater which even on the coldest night of the year was fine.

We had planned to visit Salt Springs, rent a little powerskiff and head out into the lake there to see manatees but wind and cold made us change our mind. Instead, we were slower about getting out, paying Mike, the owner, for our cabin (note: he gives good discount for cash payment). Cabin was $400 for 3 nights. Mike and his wife were very nice, very knowledgeable about area & river; I would recommend both the cabins and the kayak rentals there.

Then we began what we called our “Florida springs hiking and driving tour”. As we were driving by Lake Kerr, we spotted 2 sandhill cranes, feeding by the roadside, right next to some trailers on the lake. We stopped, gawked, admired the cranes, took their pictures, and marveled at how beautiful they were and how close we got to them. In a few minutes, we came to a large group of them, maybe 12 or 13, in a little park and again they were feeding and oblivious to us taking their pictures.

Next stop was Salt Springs, managed by the Ocala National Forest Service. Here we were allowed free entry for a short stay (since we promised no swimming). It was cold and windy down at the springs which had wisps of mist still rising from it, as the springs are warm but the air was cold. It is a natural spring, very clear, and we could see schools of fish, probably mullets, swimming throughout. The springs are connected to a larger body of water & there were kayakers parked out there so we knew they had found the manatees. One lovely experience as we were walking around the springs: a bald eagle flew directly over us, his white head very clear against darker body. We only walked briefly here, the wind and cold were discouraging.

It was a 30 minute or so drive to our next hiking spot, the Yearling Trail, where we ate sandwiches quickly in the car, grateful that the overcast sky was giving way to sun. We looked around a bit & decided winter days are so short that we should go on to the next spring, directly across the road, Silver Glen Springs. (Admission price $5 per tax per person.) The trails here and adjoining one along Lake George were very nice. The spring itself is “more natural”, the trail along Lake George led us through huge oak and cedar trees, even more Spanish moss than normal for Florida and by lakeside, a whole section of cypress knees. The trail itself was strewn with moss and cedar twigs from the wind.

Next on to Alexander Springs (with a stop at Alexander run) – Alexander Springs is large and commercially developed with scuba diving (water is very clear) and a little beach. Lots of sweet gums, maples (in full fall foliage) and cabbage palms here. My comment was continually “it looks like late fall here”. We were in the same area last year, in late February, with dogwoods and azaleas blooming, and my comment then was always “it is like spring here now.” Although with temperature only briefly reaching 50 and a cold wind blowing, maybe we were in Ocala’s one day of winter. Admission price for Silver Glen Springs is $5 per person, plus tax.

We walked the one mile Timucuan Trail for good lake views and then hurried on to Juniper Springs, a spot that two of us had fond memories of as a camping/canoeing spot from more than 25 years ago. We arrived at Juniper at 5:00, thinking that we would have until 6:00 or sunset (which is about 6:15), but the stern person at the collection kiosk told us we had to be out by 5:30. We wondered what had taken the car ahead of us so long – evidentially they were dithering and arguing about the price on this as well. But we again shelled out our $5 per person and headed in, with warnings that we must be out by 5:30 and that the restored Millhouse, built by the CCC in the 1930s, would already be closed.

Juniper Springs was as beautiful as ever – there were a few campers who were admiring it and I guess a few of us day folks people. We hurried by the millhouse, which has interesting exhibits according to website, and hustled on up to Fern Hammock, perhaps the most natural and beautiful of all the springs we saw during the day. The boardwalk trail took us by Juniper Creek, small and twisty just as remembered. We ran back, piled in the car, and drove out at 5:35, although there seemed no reason why we were forbidden to stay later since gate closes at 8 p.m. for the campers.

The person in our group wearing a Fitbit said we had gotten in 7 miles of walking (all flat land, of course) on this tour of springs. Now we headed for supper, back to Fort McCoy, and a place with very good web reviews: Bass Champions Restaurant. The parking lot was packed and we waited at least 30 minutes for seating but it was excellent food and excellent value. I had lightly fried flounder filet and a blue crabcake (trading with friend). All meals came with a small bowl of Brunswick stew at the beginning and 2 sides. I chose greens and they were very good. Flounder meal was $10, blue crab cake meal was $14.
We drove back to Ocklawaha River cabin , tired and well fed, admiring the full moon.

Next morning was cold, with low dipping to 31, but I left my friends in cabin, wrapped up well, and walked down to the public pier across the road from the canoe outpost. Excellent bird watching there (wood stork, limpkins, great blue and little blue herons feeding right on river banks) and the mist rising from the river as the sun came up over it was lovely.
After hearty breakfast of sourdough pancakes, we all took short walk, enjoying the sunshine but still cold. It took a while to figure out what to wear for the kayaking trip on the Ocklawaha River – I wound up with wool socks and other things I don’t associate with Florida.

Kayak trip was from Gore’s Landing back to the Outpost, a distance of 8 miles, that the outfitter said took 4 hours if you paddled, 5 if you floated with the current. We met at 11:30 for transport to Gore’s Landing, got in the water a little after 12:00. Cost was $59 for tandem kayak; $39 for single. Kayaks were in excellent shape, the outfitter put us in the water and pushed us off, gave map & good directions back. It was a beautiful trip with very little traffic on the river. We met no power boats of any kind and the only other kayakers were the one couple in tandem that had ridden to the Landing with us. Scenery, bird watching and general relaxing ambiance were wonderful. We saw 8 alligators, lots of turtles (larger, brighter colored ones than I usually see), the usual birds in good numbers (great blue and little blue herons, limpkins, wood stork, kingfishers, egrets) and heard an owl. We saw more sandhill cranes feeding alongside the road on the drive to Gore’s Landing. Also saw 3 raccoons on the river bank.

We took our time, taking photographs & observing the birds, then realized about 4:00 that we seriously needed to paddle to get back by 5:00. And it was getting cooler, too, as the sun was sinking behind the trees along the river. If the weather had been warmer, we would have taken one of the earlier shuttles and spent the entire day on the river, I think. Outfitter was waiting for us at the landing when we arrived at 4:55, pulled us out of the water, held kayak while we got out, all much appreciated (when one is elderly & not a skilled kayaker!).

It was Sunday night so the nearby places were not open for dinner; we headed into Ocala (a pleasant 30 minute drive) & ate downtown at Harry’s Seafood Bar & Grille. It was a large place, doing a good business. I had one of their specialties, shrimp creole, and it was a large serving (half of it came home with me). It was spicy and not as good as other meals but my friends seemed very pleased with their choices.

Next morning, I was up again early to see the mist rising from the river. Leaving was easy since all we had to do was clean up kitchen & we were on the road by 9:00, at Payne’s Prairie again by 10:00. We had planned to stop at Cross Creek/Marjorie Rawlings house but there were no guided tours on Mondays and we had enjoyed Payne’s Prairie so much that we decided hiking was more the order of the day.

We hiked the 2.6 mile Bolen Bluff Trail (which is accessed off Highway 441), walking through Florida forest (oaks, palmettos, magnolias, cedars) and then out into the prairie where again the bird viewing was excellent. Different sightings were an immature little blue heron and unidentified unusual hawk, also saw the pretty little yellow marsh marigold blooming. We got very close to a doe that was bedded down right next to the trail and from the observation tower could see 2 bald eagles in a nest (took binoculars to see them distinctly). We also saw a river otter crossing the trail ahead of us and plenty of what looked like it must be bison droppings but never any bison sighting. Beautiful day, beautiful scenery.

We then drove on to Boulware Springs, on the edge of Gainesville, and ate lunch at its park. Boulware Springs originally supplied all of Gainesville’s water needs and the old waterworks now has bathrooms, water fountains, etc. We walked about a mile along the Gainesville-Hawthorne biking trail, then branched off on the La Chua trail. The park is busy building a boardwalk here but, for now, one can walk out along the little lake and be very close to the birds and alligators. The early afternoon January sun had brought out lots of big alligators and it was quite an experience being so close to them. I would not have wanted to have walked this trail in the spring. We noticed herons getting very close to the alligators so they must have judged them to be sleepy also.

Hope this encourages folks who think of Florida as only Disney and beaches to enjoy its nature places. Ocala is less than 100 miles north of Orlando.
CLBtravel is offline  
Old Jan 31st, 2016, 05:46 AM
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Thank you very much for posting this interesting and detailed report.
Dukey1 is offline  
Old Jan 31st, 2016, 10:21 PM
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If you are looking for something unique and enjoy nature, kayaking or wildlife, then this is the tour for you! Our family of three spent New Years Eve on the Silver River with Kenny and thoroughly enjoyed our time.
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Old Feb 2nd, 2016, 01:14 AM
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Peter,
Is Silver River part of Silver Springs State Park? We had planned to go there also on this trip but time ran out.
Natural Florida is under-appreciated, I think!
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Old Feb 2nd, 2016, 11:28 AM
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What a delightful report. It's nice to know that there are those who experience the "nature" of Florida, not just rush from theme park to beach to shopping mecca (not that there's anything wrong with that as well).

Sounds like you had a wonderful time.
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Old May 25th, 2016, 02:08 AM
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This sounds like a very nice trip and so different from the usual Florida vacation at the beach or Disney. Thanks
emalloy is offline  
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