Kayak - Juniper Springs 2/26/20 God's Artistry

Juniper Springs 2/26/20 God's Artistry                                         7.9 miles
2:54 moving time, 3:39 elapsed time, 2.7mph average speed

Juniper Springs Recreation Area is a very popular recreation area with the springs for swimming and the river for kayaking.  But, today the park is empty, even the gift shop is closed.  Scotty and Dick took the truck down to the take-out.  There is a long walked ramp and the park provides carts to transport kayaks so I had the job of taking the boats down to the put-in.  I only passed another group of 4 during this time so I passed the time by walking around the park. The guys got back and we were off, and for the first time since visiting this river, there wasn't even an attendant to check our coolers for disposable trash.  It's always a thrill to get into this river as it's such a beautiful run.  We always remark that it reminds us of an amusement park ride.  It switches back and forth, the river is crystal clear and lined by the tropical Florida foliage, almost as if it had been designed by Disney.  In reality, it's been designed by an even greater artist!  For the 4 or 5 miles of this paddle, we literally floated and did little paddling, except to maneuver through the many turns.  In total, we saw five alligators between the three of us, a few turtles and only a few birds, and I saw a red and black striped snake slither across the water.  You do have to constantly be alert on this route with the constant twists and turns.  Sometimes trees will even jump out and grab your life jacket, which is what happened to Scotty.  I can't even remember a time when he was tipped, but today it happened.  It was a tricky turn - Scotty went sideways, Dick managed to go straight, and I went through backwards!  The sky darkened and the wind picked up so we started paddling more.  It never rained and we did find one muddy bank to pull over and have a quick snack.  The last two miles of this paddle, the river widens, there are less overhangs and more brushy fields on each bank. We finished the route and each commented on how much we love Juniper Springs, and once again had the best day ever!

We stopped at Lena's restaurant on the way over to Rainbow Springs.  The owners of this restaurant came down from Massachusetts area and serve northeastern seafood fare so we all had seafood lunches.  That's when the rain came.  Once we got to Rainbow Springs State park, we were hesitant to set up camp in the rain so we headed to Swampy's Restaurant with an outdoor pavilion seating area.  Scotty and I had margaritas and Dick had alligator chowder.  It was evident that the rain was not going to let up and Dick decided to drive north rather than set up his hammock.  The rain slowed some and we were able to set up the tent under the bath house roof.  This was right next to our site so we carried the tent over to our spot.  This was the coldest night yet and I had all my blankets on that night and we turned on the indoor ceramic heater.  It wasn't the best night of sleep (for me) and thank goodness, it wasn't raining when we woke up.

The launch - no attendant today.

Look how clear the water is!  It's like this the whole way!

The overcast day created mirror reflections in many spots.

Gator!

Setting up the tent under this overhang was very helpful!

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Kayak - Manatees and Monkeys, Silver Spring 2/25/20

Manatees and Monkeys at Silver Springs River 2/25/20                                    6.5 miles
Put in at Silver Springs Park, Take out at Ray Wayside Park
Temperature between 72-75 degrees, Avg Speed 2.6 mph, Moving Time 2:33, Elapsed Time 3:31
Me, Scotty, Dick

We left O'Leno State Park campground with predictions of rain so we weren't real sure of what to expect.  We drove straight to Silver Springs and Dick stopped along the way.  Once we got to the park, we realized the rain may not come until 1:00 so we unloaded the 3 boats.  Scotty drove and met Dick at the take-out, and then they both came back to meet me.  We did a leisurely slow paddle around the head springs and were able to look down into the springs.  There were loons and several other birds in this area.  As we started down the river, we did see a few alligators.  We were definitely taking our time, until we met a couple in a canoe and they told us there were manatees below the.  Sure enough, there were probably about 10 manatees swimming around.  So of course, we paddled around for quite awhile observing and taking photos of these magnificent creatures.  They are literally the size of our boats.  One came up near by my kayak and I was able to reach out and touch it's back. It surprised me as it felt rough.  With much reluctance, we left the manatees to continue our paddle down the river.  There was a slight drizzle, but nothing to worry about.  And then we came across a man who said there were monkeys at the next turn in the river.  With much excitement, we quickened our pace and sure enough, there were monkeys everywhere!  They were up in the trees, on the ground, climbing the tree trunks and all sizes, mamas & papas and babies.  They were watching us as much as we were observing them, except that we were the ones with the cameras.  I'm not sure they were too happy to have us there as they were shaking the trees and squawking, and one peed in front of me - or maybe it was just Mother Nature calling!  We were thrilled to see the monkeys as this was our fourth time on the river, yet our first time to see them.  Now that we've seen the monkeys, we've decided that we can skip coming here and conquer other rivers.  Although, this is really a great river for seeing wildlife.  We got out at Ray Wayside Park and headed to the Silver Springs Campground.  We set up camp quickly before the heavy rain was predicted and at four o-clock - still no rain.  With camp set up, we headed to dinner at Mojos which was really great.  We each had a meal that included their Cuban pork and a Mojo sauce.  The sauce was very tasty, something I may have to research and make.  Scotty and I had margaritas, we all 3 enjoyed our dinners and all agreed it was the best day ever!