Last week we visited the Museum of Florida History and one of the tourists there with us urged us to visit Wakulla Springs before we left Tallahassee. So today, with the weather looking beautiful we headed out to Wakulla State Park.
About 16 miles south of Tallahassee we arrived there about five minutes before the next scheduled boat trip on the river. We literally purchased our tickets and walked aboard the small pontoon boat as it was preparing to leave.
Christy, our park ranger/boat captain slowly made her way down the first 1 1/2-miles of the Wakulla River. Wakulla Springs is one of the largest and deepest freshwater springs in the world. The limestone caverns carved out by the water from the spring reach depths of 100s of feet.
With special permission they allow experienced scuba divers to explore the caves, but our guide said it is only for the very skilled diver.
Millions of gallons of pristine fresh water flow from the spring every day. With its constant temperature of 68 degrees the river is also home to some faithful Manatees who now make the park a year round home.
Inside the park no hunting or fishing is allowed and the wildlife is plentiful and safe from human predators. We saw, in addition to Manatees, turtles and alligators, the following birds some in great quantity: Great Blue Heron;
Great Egret; Merganser ducks; Green Heron; Little Blue Heron; Anhinga; Cormorants; Osprey; White Ibis; Coots; Moorhen; Vultures; and one Pileated Woodpecker (think Woody Woodpecker).
The park was the brainchild of Edward Ball, a 1920s industrialist and conservationist, who preserved the area for more than 40 years before it was turned over to the State of Florida for a park.
Mr. Ball did dredge part of the river to successfully entice Hollywood to come and shoot movies and parts of movies along the river. Scenes from at least two Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies and "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" were filmed on the part of the river dredged by Ball.
The alligator were so plentiful I stopped taking photos after awhile. You've seen one alligator, you've seen them all, that kind of thing.
But there was one 10-foot monster - they call him Joe Jr. after an 11-foot alligator killed by poachers that was called Joe - that I took lots of photos of.
Joan loves her birds and we saw plenty of them today. Cost of the boat ride is only $8 a person and entry to the park was another $6. A great value all the way around.
Our ranger and guide seemed to enjoy the trip as much as we did and the scheduled 55-minute tour actually lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes. The next boat passengers were waiting on the dock for their 2 p.m. trip when we arrived back.
Joan and I had a picnic lunch (a Dr. Seigal's cookie and a diet soft drink) and then we took a short nature walk along an improved trail.
The weather today was picture perfect and if you want to see more photos from today, scroll down below the ad and see a few more that I put up there.
About 16 miles south of Tallahassee we arrived there about five minutes before the next scheduled boat trip on the river. We literally purchased our tickets and walked aboard the small pontoon boat as it was preparing to leave.
Christy, our park ranger/boat captain slowly made her way down the first 1 1/2-miles of the Wakulla River. Wakulla Springs is one of the largest and deepest freshwater springs in the world. The limestone caverns carved out by the water from the spring reach depths of 100s of feet.
With special permission they allow experienced scuba divers to explore the caves, but our guide said it is only for the very skilled diver.
Millions of gallons of pristine fresh water flow from the spring every day. With its constant temperature of 68 degrees the river is also home to some faithful Manatees who now make the park a year round home.
Inside the park no hunting or fishing is allowed and the wildlife is plentiful and safe from human predators. We saw, in addition to Manatees, turtles and alligators, the following birds some in great quantity: Great Blue Heron;
Great Egret; Merganser ducks; Green Heron; Little Blue Heron; Anhinga; Cormorants; Osprey; White Ibis; Coots; Moorhen; Vultures; and one Pileated Woodpecker (think Woody Woodpecker).The park was the brainchild of Edward Ball, a 1920s industrialist and conservationist, who preserved the area for more than 40 years before it was turned over to the State of Florida for a park.
Mr. Ball did dredge part of the river to successfully entice Hollywood to come and shoot movies and parts of movies along the river. Scenes from at least two Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies and "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" were filmed on the part of the river dredged by Ball.
The alligator were so plentiful I stopped taking photos after awhile. You've seen one alligator, you've seen them all, that kind of thing.
But there was one 10-foot monster - they call him Joe Jr. after an 11-foot alligator killed by poachers that was called Joe - that I took lots of photos of.
Joan loves her birds and we saw plenty of them today. Cost of the boat ride is only $8 a person and entry to the park was another $6. A great value all the way around.
Our ranger and guide seemed to enjoy the trip as much as we did and the scheduled 55-minute tour actually lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes. The next boat passengers were waiting on the dock for their 2 p.m. trip when we arrived back.
Joan and I had a picnic lunch (a Dr. Seigal's cookie and a diet soft drink) and then we took a short nature walk along an improved trail.
The weather today was picture perfect and if you want to see more photos from today, scroll down below the ad and see a few more that I put up there.
No comments:
Post a Comment