Saint Andrews State Park

This park had somehow passed under my radar screen until today, when I suggested that we incorporate a visit there while on a trip to run errands in nearby Panama City. I had always viewed St. Andrews State Park as recreational in its orientation with a busy public beach, large campground and extensive facilities for boating and fishing. Well that all turned out to be true but this park also contains an untamed side where one can see wildlife up close through a nifty network of trails that penetrates into a surprisingly diverse set of terrains and habitats.

The beach and jetty

Known throughout the Panhandle for its sugar white sands and emerald green waters, this 1260 acre preserve, which is a former military reservation, has over one-and-a-half miles of beach front on the Gulf of Mexico and Grand Lagoon and is located a scant three miles from Panama City.

Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoniceus)

Gator Lake Trail

The two most visited parts of the park are the beach on the Gulf of Mexico which is protected by a jetty and the bay frontage on the Grand Lagoon with boat ramps, docks and picnic areas. The park's more remote uplands are characterized by rolling white sand dunes separated by low swales of either pine flat woods or marshes. Dunes covered with sea oats abound. Dunes found farther inland are covered with sand pines, scrub oaks, rosemary and other hardy plants that play an important role in preventing erosion during intense storms and hurricanes. This lesser visited part of St. Andrews is where you'll find the wildlife.

American Alligator (Alligator mississipiensis)


Common Egret (Casmerodius albus)

Oak hammock with palmetto

One of the interesting highlights of the park is the Gator Lake Trail which traverses several different ecosystems and affords an opportunity to observe a variety of animals including many species of birds, mammals and of course alligators. The pond itself reminded me a lot of peninsular Florida with it's egrets, herons and reptilian swamp life. Be careful when you hike this trail because it takes you right up close and personal to where the gators live. Watch out for snakes too.

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

An alligator in Gator Lake, of course.

For more information: http://www.floridastateparks.org/standrews/default.cfm

Cottonmouth Snakes

It's spring in Florida and time for everyone to become aware of the potential dangers posed by venomous snakes. Today our condominium complex had a little brief moment of excitement when it was discovered that a cottonmouth snake was sunning itself by the swimming pool. We helped the security guard put it in a collection bag which made Connie and I feel just like Steve and Terry Irwin on the Crocodile Hunter TV show. Connie said that it was definitely "not a very pretty sheila at all."

Cottonmouth or water moccasin
(Agkistrodon piscivorus conati)

The cottonmouth is dangerous because unlike other snakes they don't slither away when someone approaches but can become defensive and easily stirred to strike out aggressively.

From the very well written website www.marshbunny.com I found this:

Cottonmouth snakes are poisonous and extremely aggressive. They get the name cottonmouth because when they prepare to strike they open their jaws wide, exposing the puffy white lining of their mouths. Alligators only get aggressive during mating season, but cottonmouths are in a constant state of PMS - they not only will NOT run away from you, they will seek you out and chase you down.

Most anyone would rather have an alligator in their boat than a cottonmouth any day of the week. I have heard a few snake-in-the-boat stories and they are about equally divided between "we all jumped overboard" and "I grabbed my gun and shot the boat full of holes trying to kill the snake". You learn to not only keep an eye on things moving on the water, but to perform a "snake check!" anytime you pull up under a tree. Some snakes (in a fit of whimsy, no doubt) like to drop from trees into boats to see how fast they can empty the boat out.

I hope that none of these things ever happens to me or any of you my dear readers. So let's be extra careful and ever mindful of our surroundings, so we can steer clear of these dangerous reptiles in our midst.

Steve Irwin I'm NOT!

Wildlife Photographer

I have been out in the field lately and blessed with enough good luck to get some great closeups of Florida wildlife. Here are three recent favorites I thought y'all might enjoy:

American Alligator (Alligator mississipeinsis)
Lounging by a pond in Osceola County


Southern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus undulatus)
Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, Walton County


Georgia river cruiser dragonfly (Macromia illinoiensis georgina)
Topsail Hill Preserve State Park

Sunrise on the Emerald Coast

Sunrise on Seagrove Beach

My wife has become quite accomplished at taking excellent photographs with the digital camera we recently purchased and has determinedly taken it out each morning for her daily walk at dawn. Again, as many of you may already know, I don't do the dawn's early light very often. To be more exact I NEVER get up that early, so it's great having someone out covering the dawn patrol on the most beautiful stretch of coastline this side of Fiji. I kid you not.

This morning I was asked to download the contents of today's sunrise from the camera and admire one of the most beautiful mornings yet. Well I gotta admit she warn't exageratin' none t'all.

So for today I just wanted to share the beauty which is our home here on the magnificent Emerald Coast of Florida. Enjoy it y'all.

Springs along the Suwannee River

U.S. Highway 27 parallels the scenic Suwannee River for 25 miles through Lafayette County, Florida. We began a detailed reconnaissance of the remarkable springs and state parks that are located along this stretch of river in the small town of Branford. From here we traveled west to Troy Springs and Lafayette Blue Springs State Parks, both of which empty directly into the dark and murky waters of the Suwannee.

Way down upon the Suwannee River

This part of Florida is very laid back and rural. It reminded me a lot of Georgia and Alabama. People in the rest of the country often forget that Florida is indeed located in the heart of the Deep South and as such there is still much of it that looks and feels like a place unaffected by the modern world, much less the close of the Civil War. Everywhere we went in this section we saw people, both black and white, fishing along creeks, hanging out at barbecue shacks and lazing away the end of an era. Yes indeedy, my kind of place.

A beautiful spring in the middle of Branford's city park

The geology of Florida is dominated by a porous limestone layer known as the Floridian Aquifer. It is the main source of water for the springs which bubble to the surface in this part of the state. A large portion of the annual precipitation that falls to the ground is absorbed into this limestone layer and eventually returns to the surface through an elaborate underground network of caves and rivers that are carved through this unique formation. When this subterranean water table intersects with the surface of the land it forms artesian springs. Florida has more of these springs than any other place in the world.

Red-tailed hawk soars over the Suwannee

If you're ever in this part of Florida I highly recommend that you leave the mindless grind of interstate travel and come enjoy this stretch of old U.S. 27. You'll discover the beauty and serenity of a genuine piece of the Old South.

Way down upon de Swanee ribber,

Far, far away,

Dere's wha my heart is turning ebber,

Dere's wha de old folks stay.

The clear waters of Troy Spring empty into the Suwannee

Remains of the Confederate warship Madison in Troy Spring


Suwannee River as seen from the highway bridge in Branford, FL


Late afternoon light filters through the floodplain forest

Sylvan Spring

Trail through the bottomland

While out looking at riverfront properties, along the bucolically sublime shores of Econofina Creek in northern Bay County, we stumbled upon a beautiful hiking trail through an old growth forest. It is a 2-mile loop that starts out in the densely wooded bottomlands of the Econfina floodplain where it passes under Florida Hwy. 20 at the Pitt Spring recreation area. From there the trail gradually climbs up onto an 80-foot bluff overlooking the winding creek below before descending back down to the swampy bottoms and eventually back to the Pitt Spring parking area.

Sylvan Spring

Along the way we encountered a most beautiful natural spring appropriately named Sylvan Spring, which opens up right in the middle of the woods adjacent to the trail. The main spring has two central vents which bubble up adjacent to a small rise of land with a conveniently placed wooden bench, where one can sit and enjoy the serene and highly scenic splendors of this magical spot.

Bubbling vent of water

The trail winds through a forest that contains many giant specimens of beech, oak and cypress, some of which towered almost 100 feet above us. We spotted a large crested woodpecker which we thought was a pileated but after giving a description to a birder friend of mine he suspected that we may have actually stumbled upon an ivory-billed. Such a discovery would make us famous celebrities in the naturalist world. I'm still quite sceptical but my friend has urged me to return and see if I can get another good look and maybe even a picture.

Clear water of Sylvan Spring merges with Econfina Creek

The last reported sighting of this supposedly extinct bird was in this very same part of Florida last year. In 2004 a team of Cornell University ornithologists claim to have made a positive sighting in the woody swamps of southern Arkansas and before that the last documented ivory-billed woodpecker recorded was in Louisiana in 1944.

Ivory-billed woodpecker

The trailhead is located at the Pitt Spring recreation pool located along Florida Hwy. 20 where it crosses Econfina Creek about 25 miles north of Panama City and eight miles east of U.S. Hwy. 231.

Sinkhole along the trail


Beaver lodge in Econfina Creek

Lake Eaton Sinkhole

Lake Eaton Sinkhole

Located in the heart of the Ocala National Forest is a seldom visited geologic feature known as the Lake Eaton Sinkhole. It is the second largest dry sinkhole in the state, measuring 450 feet across and 80 feet deep.

Steep wall of the sinkhole as seen from the stairs

A sinkhole is a cavity in the ground, especially in limestone bedrock, that is caused by water erosion and provides a route for surface water to disappear underground. Florida, which is largely composed of limestone, has the most sinkholes in the country, followed by Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Down into the abyss

There are three trails that lead to the rim of the crater which has an observation deck and interpretive display that explains the unique geology of sinkhole formation. Wooden stairs lead to the bottom where the vegetation is similar to that of an oak hammock, featuring magnolias, live oak, dogwood, loblolly pine and the sabal palm.

The bottom of the sinkhole

The trailhead can be accessed from Florida Hwy. 314 and is located about 25 miles northeast of Ocala.

Golden silk spider (Nephila clavipes)

For more information contact: www.fs.fed.us/r8/florida/recreation/index_oca.shtml#top

Silver River State Park

Silver River State Park is a 5,000 acre nature preserve located east of Ocala that contains the entire length of a most enchantingly beautiful waterway. The headsprings lie in the world famous Silver Springs theme park, located west of the park boundary, which is known for its glass bottom boat rides, fountain water shows and alligator and crocodile feedings.

Vintage postcard of the Silver Springs theme park

Silver Springs is the largest limestone artesian spring in the world. About a half a million gallons of water per day flow out of an underground cave into a large bowl 400 feet in diameter and 40 feet deep. From here the water flows for 5 miles through the state park which is essentially an undeveloped wilderness and on into the Ocklawaha River (Timucua Indian word meaning "dark water") which then empties into the St. Johns River and hence on to the Atlantic Ocean.

Silver River

The state park was set aside in 1996 to preserve ten distinct ecological communities that include sandhill, scrub, oak hammock, swamp and floodplain forests. According to the park brochure: "Deer, turkey, gopher tortoises and birds are abundant, while coyote, fox and bear are occasionally seen. Aquatic wildlife abounds with alligators, river turtles, otters and many species of wading and diving birds."

White ibis perch in a dead tree above the river

The Seminole Indians considered the springs to be sacred and there is abundant evidence that various Indian tribes have inhabited the headwaters of the Silver River for the past 12,000 years. In the 1820's a fledgling tourist trade began when curious visitors started to make their way to this area and pole their boats along this exotically scenic stretch of river. Before the War Between the States this area became a major plantation area growing vegetables, tobacco, and oranges.

Nature trail leading to the river

By the late 19th-century an enterprising young man placed a sheet of glass in the bottom of a rowboat and a new business sprang into being. The Silver River has been famous for over a hundred years for its glass-bottom boat tours which still attract visitors to this out of the way spot from all over the globe.

Red-shouldered hawk

The park has four excellent hiking trails and boasts a modern 59 site campground. Their are also modern cabins, an excellent museum, picnic grounds and a canoe/kayak launch.

Floodplain jungle

There is much to keep the visitor engaged and occupied at Silver River, so I'd suggest that folks dedicate two whole days to take it all in. This is one of Florida's newer state parks and it shows, with many modern amenities and up to date interpretive information. This is a park that I highly reccomend.

Mysterious cypress bottom


Jungle boy

For more information: www.FloridaStateParks.org/silverriver

Juniper Springs

Juniper Springs is one of the more remarkable natural wonders in all of Florida. Located in the heart of the 450,000 acre Ocala National Forest it is a first magnitude spring that gushes forth some 15 million gallons of water per day into Juniper Creek. All of this water eventually flows northeastward into Lake George, the second largest body of water in the state after Lake Okeechobee. The water temperature of the spring is a constant 72 degrees making it a delightful place to swim year-round.

Crystal clear water of Juniper Creek

The highlight of the Juniper Springs recreation area is the three-quarter mile long nature trail that winds along the banks of Juniper Creek. This trail connects the head spring, which is the source of the creek, to its terminus at Fern Hammock Spring. For most of its length the trail is located on an elevated boardwalk that parallels the creek.

A look into the bottom of Juniper Spring

At the start of the nature trail is the Juniper Springs pool, site of an old mill that still has a working water wheel. There are stone walls and steps lining the perimeter of the spring that lead down into the pool itself. This infrastructure was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's and was one of the first areas in Ocala National Forest developed for tourists.

Fern Hammock Spring

Canoeing is a popular activity along a seven-mile canoe run. There is also a campground with a small store and direct access to the Florida National Trail which runs through the southern part of this recreation area near the entrance gate along Florida Hwy. 40.

Water percolating up through the creek bottom is called a sand boil.

The species of lowland trees encountered at Juniper Springs include red maple, bay, pond pine, black gum and the rare needle palm. The National Forest Service brochure states that the semi-tropical scenery encountered here is not found in any other national forest in the continental United States. For this reason the area once attracted the interest of Hollywood producers and directors who utilized it for filming Tarzan movies and other such projects that required an exotic jungle-like atmosphere.

Bridge across Fern Hammock Spring

The Juniper Springs Recreation Area is truly a gem and I highly recommend that you go out of your way to make a visit. It is one of Florida's premier natural wonders. Y'all go visit, ya hear?

The author walking on the boardwalk along Juniper Creek.