Hike - Green Mountain Nature Preserve - Huntsville Alabama

 Green Mountain Nature Preserve, Alum Hollow                       2.8 miles
On our way home from Florida, we stopped at Ethan's house for one night.  We drove up Green Mountain and hiked Alum Hollow.  It's a nice trail that goes through the woods and there are some rocky overhangs (Alum Cave).  There's also a waterfall along the trail. 

Kayak - Cedar Key - Quick, Let's Go

Cedar Key - Quick, Let's Go 2/28/20
Started at 36 degrees at 7:30, 50 degrees at 9:30

We had a great night's rest and when we got up the next morning, Scotty saw that the wind was only 5 mph and he suggested we go kayaking.  We quickly packed up, layered up with clothing because it still was cold and headed down to the boat launch.  The entry into the bay was not easy as there was about 50 feet of muck before the water got deep enough for us to launch our kayaks.  We immediately headed to the first island.  Along the way, I thought I heard a snort behind me, and when I turned, I saw a dolphin just 15 feet from my kayak.  He only stayed long enough to say hello and then disappeared.  We got to the island at 8:19 and we each took off one layer of clothing.  It hadn't warmed up, but we had exerted a lot of energy just paddling over the short distance with the waves and slight wind.  We decided against going around the island, and paddled southward along the island before heading back to the shore as the wind seemed to be picking up.  And on the way back we saw a dolphin jump out to say hello again.  We paddled along the buildings of Cedar Key as we got closer to land and were able to see the many pelicans roosting along posts and buildings.  When we arrived back at the launch, the tide had gone out and we had to walk our kayaks through the muck until we got to the sandy shore at 8:46.  It was a short paddle, but we accomplished our two goals for Cedar Key.  We ate Toni's clam chowder and had a paddle, even if it was short.  We even had enough time before check out to take a shower, load up the truck and head out by 9:30 towards Ethan's house.

Park Place Inn - Room 221, corner unit with wrap around balcony.  A nice upgrade from the tent!!!

Yes, the sun was out at 7:30, but it was still cold!

Paddling away from Cedar Key.

The pelicans watched us paddle out and then back in.

Bundled up.

Cedar Key strikes me as a home to an eclectic group of people, people that love nature and art.  

A sculpture garden, not far from our hotel.

Love this bright painting.

Kayak - Rainbow Springs 2/27/20

Rainbow Springs 2/27/20                                                                    3.2 miles
1 hour 30 minutes paddling time, 2.2mph avg. speed

When we awoke, the rain had stopped, but everything was wet.  We laid things out in an attempt to dry equipment.  It was our last night of camping, and we had no choice to pack things away wet.  But, it was easy to pack away camping stuff that was no longer needed.

We put in at KP City Park.  It was windy, but we managed to paddle up river to the springs.  Along the way we passed many kayaks, a rowing team and several divers; and Scotty saw a manatee at the bottom of the river.  On the right of this river is the national park, and on the left are lots of residential homes with docks reaching out into the river.  At the head springs, there is a park surrounding the water and there's a huge roped off swimming area.  The water is a beautiful Caribbean blue and you can see far down to the bottom.  Of course, the paddle down stream was very pleasant as the wind was now at our back and we reached the city park in no time.  So we headed up the kayaks and headed west to the Gulf.

We got to Cedar Key about 1:00, but it was still windy and we didn't want to chance going over to the island.  We walked around town, which has an old town Florida feel.  There are plenty of local artist co-op shops, a sculpture garden, a central park, and plenty of seafood offerings.  We headed over to Toni's which is known for it's clam chowder.  We each had a cup of the delicious clam chowder; and I had a shrimp skewer and Scotty had a fish sandwich.  We walked some more around town and down to the waterfront.  We also went into the general store where an older woman told us much about Cedar Key.  She is a life-long resident and she says there are only about 6 original families still there. There's a local school, K-12 with about 300 students.  The city council closely monitors the buildings and the signage within the town.  It's such a cool place.  We got back to our hotel, Park Place Inn which is probably from the 70s or so.  We had a corner unit with a wrap around balcony - just too cold to sit outside, but we could enjoy the view from the corner windows.  We watched TV, had some wine and just enjoyed taking an indoor shower and sitting on furniture.

Attempting to dry out camping equipment.

Such a beautiful city launch site.

Suddenly, Scotty was surrounded by a row team.