Warm weather.

A cold, lingering rain today while I sit inside and write. So...photos of warmth and sunshine.

Jenny Lake, Grand Tetons National Park.

Lunchtime on a float trip along the Yellowstone River.

Warm Spring day at the Dry Tortugas National Park.

 

Wakualla Springs State Park, Florida.

Egmont Key!

On the Chassahowtizka River.

De Leon Springs.

Andy and I, at a Hot Spring on the Yellowstone River.

These are Just Some of My Favorite Springs

I've been visiting the clearwater springs in Florida since I was about twenty years old. I never get tired of them. Because there are so many springs there, Carole and I are far from visiting them all. In fact, we haven't even visited all of the 33 first-magnitude springs there. I think we're only halfway down that particular list. Then there are the many second and third-magnitude springs, many of which are spectacular and worth seeing. We've been to a number of those, also.

We're gearing up for our first big vacation of the year. This one, like many of our other trips, will feature visits to big springs. We'll be seeing two we've spent time at before: Ichetucknee Springs and Salt Springs. Those are two of our favorites and well worth the time we'll spend on them.

Ponce De Leon Springs. This one used to be a county park, but is now a State Park. Not the biggest spring, but we had a great time swimming there.

Rainbow Springs. This one is pretty darned big. I took this composite shot from a high bluff above the head spring. It was once a private amusement park but when Disney World killed off the clientele for many of the mom 'n' pop amusement parks in Florida, the state was able to step in and buy up most of the ones that had scenic, historical, and environmental value. Thus it was with Rainbow Springs.

Manatee Springs, another absolutely striking first-magnitude spring. And, yes, it is frequented by manatees.


This is Blue Springs. Another of my favorites. It's a big hangout for manatees seeking warmer waters when the St. John River gets too cold for them. This is where I was when two manatees swam up to me a few years ago.

Rock Springs Run. This one was also once a private property that ended up in the hands of the State of Florida.

Carole took this shot of me at De Leon Springs. Not to be confused with the much smaller Ponce de Leon Springs. This is another really big spring that was a private amusement park in its day and which the state was able to purchase and convert to a state park.

Ponce De Leon Springs and Falling Waters

Well, we're off for home! Seven days in Florida was glorious, but it's time to head back for North Carolina! I'll post some detailed material when I get back. Until then, here's a brief bit of some of the amazing places we saw today.

I'll bet you didn't know that Florida had a 75-foot waterfall! It does! Single drop, too! None of this sissy cascade stuff! It vanishes into a 100-foot deep cylindrical sinkhole. No one knows where the water ends up. In Falling Waters State Park.

Ponce De Leon Springs! We had it all to ourselves for about two hours! Amazing!

Carole snapped this one of me sitting on a set of cypress knees in Ponce De Leon Springs.

Yep! It's me! I was jumping in over the main vent where 14 million gallons of 68-degree crystal pure fresh water wells up each and every day.