Gilchrist Weekend Day 2
I woke up feeling super refreshed this morning after sleeping almost 11 hours! It was still early so there was a spooky fog everywhere that made me feel like I was in a haunted forest.
I checked out the swimming hole – unfortunately no manatees this morning, though there were some fish and cute turtles.
I packed a day of healthy snacks and headed out for the day.
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Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park
I started out at Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park which I was pretty excited about. This park is full of sinkholes, caves, and springs. What surprised me a little bit was that this park is very informal with no attendants. There is an extensive underwater cave system that is popular for cave scuba diving –all registrations are on the honor system. This was my first day of really starting to realize what fascinating geological history we have in this state – I have so much more to learn! You HAVE to watch this video – the enthusiasm is infectious.
This was a very pleasant park for hiking. I also got to start my geocaching adventures since the park has some GPS signal – intermittent GPS definitely makes geocaching more challenging!
After reading all of the information signs, I really would love to become trained in cave scuba diving – too bad I’m too cheap to take up that hobby.
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There are caves under the surface of these waters!
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There are also cool fungal splashes of color all over the park
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I was the only one in the parking lot for a very private park experience
The roads are a little rough, but the Fiat is technically an on and off-road racer, so we can’t be too prissy!
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Lafayette Springs State Park
After Peacock Springs, I moseyed over to Lafayette Springs. This is where I started to really experience the consequences of the recent flooding. I have already seen Devil’s Den 6’ higher than usual and the forest flooded with water in Gilchrist. These still felt pretty normal compared to the rest of today. The Lafayatte Spring is closed to swimming. Either because of the flooding, the off-season, or both – the parking lot and park are vacant! There was also no attendant to stamp my passport book. This park was another one with no GPS so no geocaches. It does have nice short hikes and a relatively luxurious restroom complex.
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Water testing stations are present at many of the state parks
A nice view from the restroom complex
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Troy Spring State Park
I went on to Troy Spring State Park next. Another park that had closed swimming areas due to brown-out conditions. Fortunately I had some GPS! So I got some geocaching done on a very easy hike through some pretty scenery. I will need to come back when the water is clear and swimmable to see the sunken ship – very cool!
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Itchetucknee Springs State Park
When I was a resident at UF, Jeff and I had a blissful afternoon drifting down the meandering river from Itchetucknee Springs. We were packed inner tube to inner tube then, which I realize now is because it was the summer time. Despite it being the busy season in Palm Beach, it is the slow season in North Florida. There were only a few cars in the parking lot and one family getting ready for a tubing adventure. This park had no GPS signal, so no geocaching here, but I did get to walk around a bit and sit by the water for a while. One lady hopped in and swam downstream with a couple of kayaks in her wetsuit and webbed gloves.
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Poe Springs Park
On my way back to Gilchrist, I came across a county park, Poe Springs, recommended by a friend. This park IS pretty and looks like it has a nice swimming hole, but the water was high, the water was brown, and I had visions of manatees back at Gilchrist, so I decided to head back to camp instead of swimming here. There was no internet so no geocaching either.
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On the way back, I stopped by the High Springs Emporium to check out the rocks and minerals. While there are some really nice large pieces – the smaller things are overpriced and the larger specimens are way out of reach. So just looking with no touching,
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I got my firewood for the next two days and then took a dip in the spring since it is so sunny and clear. There were no manatees but I got to see some cute, nosy fish while peeking over my shoulder for gators.
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Look at this cute armadillo!
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I had some nice reading time in the hammock. Then dinner was some tasty creamy Parmesan rice and turkey dogs cooked over the fire (only 45 calories each!!). I had another early bedtime with the sound of owls and coyotes in the air.
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All together, I covered about 8-9 miles on foot today!
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2.8.19
National Parks = 0
State Parks = 14
City/municipal parks = 9
Miscellaneous natural wonders = 1
Miscellaneous Florida State experiences = 5
Tags: Alachua, Gilchrist springs, Itchetucknee Springs, Lafayette Springs, Poe Springs, Troy Springs