Kayak - Perdido River

 10.4 miles, 2:25 paddling time, pipes Landing to Sand Recreation Area Launch

Getting to sand recreation area to drop off Scotty‘s bike was an adventure in itself. It was about a 2 mile ride to the launch on a red clay, rocky, mud covered road. There were some puddles that we went through that looked questionable, but we made it through all of them. We locked up Scotty‘s bike, then went to the pudding where he had another 1 mile road that was another adventure. The bank into the river was small but muddy, and very slippery. We got into our boats and started down the river, and we’re pleasantly surprised by the swift current. In that 1st mile we averaged a pace of 13 minutes. The rest of the day continued like that with us averaging anywhere between 13 minutes to 16 minutes per mile. we were ecstatic after our horrible paddle yesterday. This is a wide river with some Sandy beaches along the side. There were trees down but the river is wide enough that it was never a problem After 6 1/2 miles we found a little island in the middle of the river where we stopped for lunch. An Eagle decided to show off for us and soared in circles around us above while we ate. We finished the river much quicker than the shorter river yesterday. It was a perfect way to end our 2024 paddle adventure. On the way home we stopped to eat at fisherman‘s corner, which is just under the bridge. I highly recommend this restaurant I had grilled mahi-mahi and Scotty had grilled shrimp. For dessert, Scotty ordered bread pudding that was out of this world.  It was a great 2024 Paddle Adventure. We figure we paddled a total of 56 miles. 😊

This was the road going to the launch. Scotty got out to check the depth of the puddle.

dle from Hell

 7.1 miles, 2:36 hours, Put in at Walsinghan Park, Take out at Econfina Boat Ramp

We drove almost an hour to paddle Econfina Creek as we had done the lower portion years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. When we got to the put-in, we saw signs that said there were obstacles left over from hurricane Michael. I looked up the date of hurricane Michael and it was 2018 so we figured they needed to update their signs and we would be safe, there was a great flow to the water and we thought it would be a wonderful day. Probably a half a mile down the river we encountered a tree down and had to do the limbo to get under it, no problem we got under. Then, soon after we encountered a tree down and we had to go over it meaning we had to get on the log and rock and rock until we can get our kayaks going. For the next dang 3 miles there was one obstacle after another. It was either sliding down into our kayak to get under a down tree or rocking to get over a down tree or going in between tree branches. It was unbelievable I’m very surprised that neither of us tipped. At one point we connected our two bungee straps and Scotty pulled me over one log, at another obstacle when I was stuck on top of the log, I was breaking away branches to clear a path for us to get through. Miraculously after about 3 1/2 miles we noticed the trees were cut and there were no more obstacles. But every time we turned the corner we held our breath thinking what’s up ahead. This first 3 miles we paddled at about 30 minutes per mile. The last 3 miles we were paddling at almost 16 minutes per mile , all this to say, the signs need to stay up and they were correct. And to top it off, this was the first time in a very long time that we forgot our lunch. And I never forget lunch.  It turned out to be a 7 mile paddle rather than a 10 and I was extremely happy  that Scotty was wrong for once on the mileage. Today Is was a BAD ASS (not bad for a 65 year old woman) and Scotty kept up with me! LOL He rode his bike back to the put in, and that also was not an easy ride. It was an 8 mile ride that took him an hour over A Florida red clay back road. He said he even got off his bike a few times to walk as it was just too muddy. An hour later, he made it back to me and the kayaks.

We drove just down the road where we saw Pitt and Willinger Springs. Florida has done a beautiful job at making the ramps accessible for people. The springs were beautiful.

To end the day, we stopped at North Shore Beach club which was right on the river. Scotty had a mahi fish sandwich with fries and I had fish tacos with fries. We sat by the window overlooking the river and sand just outside the window. It was a perfect way to end the paddle from hell.

Kayak - Holmes Creek

 9.7 miles, 3:21 hours.  Put in at High Tower Springs, Take out at Live Oak Landing

When we got to the put in, we said hey, I think we’ve been here, but after checking our blog, we realized we hadn’t. We got to the take out and realized that all the launches looked alike. There is a small dock that overlooks the springs and it’s a Beautiful spot as you have Clearwater and you could see the reflection of the blue sky above with the white clouds, and all of the trees. This river is tea color from the resin from the trees. The trees don’t have leaves yet, so they all looked silver and reflected beautifully along the river. It was a very quiet paddle, and we remarked that we hadn’t seen any wildlife. We saw two deer in the woods and they ran like crazy when they hurt us. I think the wildlife on this river are not used to people. Soon we saw a huge alligator, and it slid into the water. It was so big we wondered if it had just eaten a deer. Better a deer than us, sorry, deer. We later saw one more alligator that slid into the water Two more deer, and only a few Heron. About halfway down, we stopped for lunch at cummins Landing, which is a gravel road that leads down to the water. When we’re kayaking, we always have the best lunch spots. this river does seem to be a little bit challenging as there are a lot of trees down, but it’s better than Juniper, because it’s very wide, and there is room to maneuver around the trees. It was a beautiful, paddle with lots of reflections, and time to reflect as we paddle down the quiet waterway.

Bike - Timpoochie Trail

 13.5 miles, 1:32 hours

We arrived at topsail Island, preserve Campground yesterday. Sadly, I did not get a photo of this campsite, but it has not been one of our favorites because we were very close to the other campers.There is a nice boardwalk at this campground leading down to the beach. The campground is very large and has spaces for RVs, tents, and there are bungalows. There are several bathroom facilities, a laundry facility, several lakes, a coffee shop, and probably more that I missed. 

Today was a cold day in the 50s and rain was expected in the afternoon. We got out and rode our bike along the highway from our campground to the edge of Grayton Beach. We rode 45 minutes into the wind, enough to make me stop at a convenience store and get a napkin put into my ears. It was a windy and cold day. We sailed back in 35 minutes and we’re not nearly as cold in all we wrote about 14 miles. We got back to the trailer and the rain started to come down. We sat inside and researched local restaurants, finally deciding on Austin‘s 98. It was a great choice. It’s a local sports bar in a strip mall. Scotty had a platter with fried scallops and fried shrimp, I had a cup of gumbo and a salad.  For an appetizer we split fried calamari and fried banana peppers, neither of us are fans of banana peppers, but we really enjoyed this appetizer. We had a local hefeweisen, although it was not one of the best hefeweisens we’ve ever had. Overall, the dinner was excellent. We certainly made the best of a yucky day.

Silver River

 5.8 miles, 2:47 hours

We had planned to go to salt Springs and possibly go swimming to see the manatees there. There had been reports that earlier in the week hundreds of manatees were seen in salt Springs and in blue Springs. In fact, blue Springs had a record of over 900 manatees on Monday, the problem was that today and yesterday the weather had warmed up enough that the manatees were swimming back out to the rivers So our original plan was scrapped. so off, we went to Silver River we put in at Silver Springs State Park and Kayak down to Ray Wayside Park. It doesn’t matter the day the time or the weather, this river is always beautiful. We only saw two small manatees today, perhaps they were lost from their group, we saw several alligators, sunning themselves and as usual tons of turtles. We also saw several monkeys in the trees, but not as many as we have seen in the past.

Here is a brief history of Silver Springs. In the late 1800s the glass bottom boats were built for tourist that came from the north. It became a very popular tourist attraction and in the 1930s Hollywood noticed and started filming movies. Here it is said that the monkeys along the river Originated from a film that brought in monkeys. What the filmmakers didn’t know was that monkeys could swim, and they escaped from the isOther side of the river and now there are about 500 to 600 monkeys along the silver Spring river.in the 1970s other Florida attractions began to grow much bigger and attendance at Silver Spring declined.2013 the Florida Park service took control of Silver Spring resort emerged it withForming Silver Springs state park.

Kayaking - Juniper River

 7 miles, 2:38 hours

Off to one of our favorite Florida paddles, the juniper river. Scotty took his bike to the end and I killed time by walking around the springs when we got in the river it said the level was 1.1 feet we both thought it looked higher than other times we had been there, today we paddled we seem to be running into more and more low hanging branches and trees that have fallen across the river. we both agreed that somebody had made the river a little more challenging this year because we didn’t remember it this way it couldn’t be because we hadn’t kayaked in so long. God forbid that we’re getting older is that we did it we finished it and we loved it. (Except we both commented that we could feel it in our shoulders this time). We finished the day with a huge, delicious seafood lunch at Lena’s.

 

Kayaking - Ocklawaha River

 6.2 miles, 2:08 minutes

Today we kayaked the Oklawaha river, putting in at Gore Landing, and taking out at Eureka West. The temperature started at about 50°, and it was 68° when we got in the truck. It was an overcast day, but since we hadn’t been kayaking in so long, we thoroughly enjoyed the paddle. There is nothing spectacular to report as we only saw a few flocks of birds, three alligators, and absolutely no people. 

We’re camping at our favorite, Florida State Park, Silver Spring State Park. As usual, we had a very large Site.