20 January 2023, Southern Camping Day 15

 Rodman State Park

Palatka, Florida

Azalea at Silver Spring State Park

Marc-   Another day to explore in the Florida hinterland.  The are mostly seemingly endless forests and lakes connected by a few rivers to the St. John's River.  There are many large Springs in the area bringing up millions of gallons of water from the Florida aquifer.  We visited the largest such Spring at Silver Springs (8o million gallons of water per day come out of the limestone and create the source of the Silver River).   The park is known for its glass bottom boat tours as well as its canoe and kayak trails.  Once we arrived we immediately noticed the incredibly clear waters and the fish below visible from the pier.  After walking in the flower garden we boarded one of the glass bottomed boats run by Captain Sara.  All of these tour boats are electric powered, very maneuverable, and quiet.  Captain Sara explained the nature of the Springs and its inhabitants.  We saw several types of fish including gar, bass and Tilapia.  Captain Sara said there are 32 species in total.  We also saw two manatees and one alligator.  She also explained how this site has been used as a movie (Creature from the Black Lagoon) and television (Sea Hunt series) set in the past.  Some of the props are still on the bottom or are used as boat docks.  

Most of our time here was spent walking on the wilderness trails.  Good exercise.  Some of the areas we passed through had been burned recently to clear the underbrush.

Glass bottom boat fleet.

Canoe and Kayak trail.

Alligator getting warm.

Silver Springs trees.

American Beautyberry.

Which trail are we on?

Pine tree loaded with pine cones.

We stopped over at the Palatka Waterfront Park before returning to our campground.  The Park was fine and the St. John's River very nice here.  The Town Marina is closed for some reason and its docks are only inhabited by birds.  This is unfortunate since it is rather new and well built.  There were several run down boats anchored off of the docks and one sunken boat at a dock.  A private marina nearby seemed to be doing well.

Palatka Marina

Postcards are still being sent by some of us.