Springs

The thing Carole and I enjoy the most when we go to Florida is seeking out and exploring the enormous freshwater springs that emerge from the karst topography of the state. We had hit many of them, but there are so many that we know that there are always new ones to discover. This year we were hoping to see and experience many of the big springs that line the shores of the Suwannee River in the north of the state.

However, seeing those springs is a hit-or-miss option since they Suwannee often overruns its banks and subsequently the tea-colored water of that river "blacks out" the freshwater springs. This happened to us once before when we journeyed there to kayak and snorkel. And,  alas, it happened again. The river was up many feet above flood stage and this killed off our chance to see the dozens of first, second, and third degree springs along its banks.

However, there are always some springs that emerge from higher areas of the state and we fell back on seeing some of those. The first one we decided to hit was Ichetucknee Springs. That one is an old favorite of ours, and a very popular destination of most of the residents of northern Florida and southern Georgia. You can almost always count on huge, noisy crowds on the Ichetucknee.

The one great thing about this trip to those springs was that they were almost deserted. For about an hour, we had the Ichetucknee Head Spring all to ourselves. It was pure bliss.

(Tomorrow,  the springs of the Wacissa River.)

The view of the Head Springs that greeted us.

Jump in!

Underwater beauty.

Swimming the day away in Ichetucknee Springs.