Day 8 - We Don't Want to Go Home
Okay, most of us.
Editor's note. I am going to post this but will revise it later by adding graphics and pictures.....
Adams Tract River Camp to Branford, FL (Patrician Oaks boat ramp)
Water Level:
Last day is always bitter sweet. Okay, mostly bitter. While still in the moment you know that it is going to end...soon. This causes the inevitable trying to stretch the trip out. Today we were only going 8??? miles. On stops today were to be fantastic if the water was clear. We had great results on prior days and we were not expecting anything different on our last day.
Troy Springs
Early on, this spring was one of the highlights of the trip. There was supposed to be the remnants of paddleboat??? in the water. When the water is clear, you are supposed to be able to see it.
We arrived to the park with barely anyone else there. It was a Saturday morning, but I guess people were sleeping in. There was a floating dock to park our kayaks at, not really all that easy due to the height of it but we managed. While walking towards the spring, there was a small building that had a sign on it that caught Shawn's eye...free coffee!
We took the detour for the coffee. It was in a small building that they had some displays in it. From the open door, one of the rangers mentioned the ship and the water being clear today. They pointed out the window but, honestly, I wasn't seeing anything significant.
The ship was a paddle boat used as a store during the Civil War. When the Union soldiers got closer to the spring, the owner decided to scuttle the ship and raise it after the war was over. I guess, at sometime, it was burned to the water line instead. So much for plans.
I decided to make my way to the spring to find this boat. After all of the normal acclimations to the cold water, I began to swim over the springs videoing as I went. The springs are quite large here and the depth is really nice. But, honestly, I wasn't here for a swim, I was here for a boat.
On the way to the boat, it was like swimming in a large aquarium: . fish and turtles everywhere.. I saw a lot of turtles and fish in the water. Being the first swimmers of the day, they hadn't been scared off yet. The water depth got shallower as I approached the area of where the boat was at. And then I saw it.
Well, there was more to see than I had thought there would be. The bottom of the boat had a lot of the timbers still there. It wasn't hard to imagine that this was a large boat, not something small in size. It was maybe 50 wide by 100 feet long??? There were plenty of parts that could still be made out as well. ???
Little River Springs
According to research, this was a very heavily used spring by the locals. It is accessible by boat and by vehicle and is a favorite of divers.
We pulled up to the sandy beach area and I already liked what I was seeing: a nice size swimming area with paved spots to sit and relax or eat. Did someone mention food? Lunch was a clearing house of anything that was there to eat. bacon, crackers with salami, chips, soda, etc were devoured with last day sadness.
The last spring on our last day didn't disappoint either. The water was clear and had a lot of different depths to it. The rock formation had several a ridge creating two "ravines" with the deeper one leading into the spring head. In the spring head, I could see light coming from a diver, who was probably doing a stop to allow the gases to escape his body to prevent the bends. There was a school of a dozen fish swimming around. Sometimes separating into two groups to avoid swimmers.
When looking back at this time, it was such a beautiful moment. The weather was perfect and the place wasn't crowded. There were kids running around making joyful noises while playing in the water.
The Final Miles
As we left Little River Springs, there was a sadness in the air. We didn't have far to go to our next destination, but this destination was not a spring, nor a place of interest. It was just an unmarked boat ramp that did mark our last stop on the river.
We didn't go on the way into Branford due to our canoe livery (Suwannee River Rendevous) saying that the boat traffic is bad in Branford. That was a good choice because we got a small taste while leaving Little River Springs. Several boats passed us, one didn't slow down.
As we approached the ramp, I would call out the miles....one mile left....3/4s....1/2.... When we arrived, Maria, not surprisingly, was the last one. She actually turned around and went into salmon mode. We got the joke but knew she would go far. And then we were all on land, done with our trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment