CCC Infrastructure is Everywhere.

Since Carole and I spend so much time in all sorts of parks and forests, we've seen all kinds of work done by the old Civilian Conservation Corp. I've covered the CCC before. If you don't know about the organization, look it up here.

What's amazing about the work they did is that so much of it is still in use today. They created most of the trails that I hike. Engineers who couldn't find work during the Great Depression were tasked with routing those trails and deciding what slopes they should tackle and how much earth and rock needed to be moved to create them. And the unskilled workers who were similarly sidelined during those very bad economic times did the hard labor.

Every time we set up camp and explore we find ourselves enjoying the buildings these men constructed and the lakes they impounded and the roads and trailways they built. Once you have realized how many places they improved and how much of that work still matters today you cannot help but be impressed.

So it was when we toured the state parks we visited on this trip. CCC buildings made from local timber and limestone. Impressive structures still being utilized in 2017, even if some things have been re-purposed.

National Parks. National Forests. State Parks. County parks. Almost everywhere you turn in our nation's system of parks and recreation areas you will see the handiwork of the CCC. There are monuments to these hard working individuals, but not enough of them, in my opinion.

The following are photos I took at Florida Caverns State Park. This park was mostly opened up and built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Government work at its finest.

This big spring in the park reminded me of the freshwater springs we saw in Missouri in 2008. A lot of the springs there are like this one, with the water appearing milky blue from limestone suspended in solution.

The land around this big spring was graded and cleared by the CCC.

This is the park's visitor's center and museum. While it has been altered over the years, it was originally built by the CCC.

The entrance to the caverns. You must be part of a guided tour ($8) to enter. All the trails were graded by the CCC Boys.

One does not expect to encounter rocky terrain and steep hills in Florida, but they're here.

A good shot of the visitor's center/museum. The CCC enginners constructed it of timber and limestone harvested on site. It is a very impressive building.

We see these little monuments to the men of the CCC and their accomplishments all around the country.

Infrastructure courtesy of the CCC. Thanks!