85 miles on the Suwannee River - Day 4 (draft)

Day 4 - The sun will come out, and burn you badly

Sponsored by the makers of sunscreen and sun shades.  Special thanks goes to the lovely shade provided by the trees on the river.

Editor's note.  I am going to post this but will revise it later by adding graphics and pictures.....

Suwannee River State Park to Dowling Park River Camp (DPRC)

River straightens out and gets wider.

[4.1] Most Important Meal

What can I say, I love making a big breakfast.  Being in a cabin, makes food prep that much easier.  We had omelets with ham in them and leftover steak.  My mouth waters just thinking about it. To make things easier, I had broken up the eggs and put them in a 1/2 gallon OJ container when at home.  Easy storage in a cooler.

Be Careful of What You  Ask For

Well, i wish we could take it back.  We asked for it, and it came.  The sun, with all of it's splendid glory, was unfettered in its attempt to make us like bacon.  Some survived relatively unscorched.  Others, not so much.  Angelia bore the brunt of the sun's might changing her legs to a nice medium well.  We added plenty of sun screen to her legs, then eventually she had her wear some leggins???.  Even though she was uncomfortable, she hang in there.  Thankfully, she seemed to recover by the next morning.

Today's Surprise

Today was going to be an adventure.  There were several spots on the the river that we wanted to explore.   We also knew the river was going to change from narrow and winding to wider and less bends.  As we left, we came across where the North Withlacoochee River merges with the Suwannee.  We knew there was a small spring just a little ways up the river so some of us went to explore it while Maria and the kids went down stream.  Going up stream wasn't that difficult but the spring was very powerful.  It was fast moving enough that when you went by it, it gave you a really good push.  As I entered back in to the Suwannee, I radioed Maria to tell her we were on our way.  Estimating we were 10 minutes behind her, it wouldn't take very long to catch-up to her and the kids.  She didn't radio back but I figured she probably didn't have her radio on.  When I got closer I could see she had kindly pulled over to wait for us.  Closer yet, and she started yelling at me get over there now.  Looking further down stream I could see why she was waiting for us and in a panic: rapids!

We had completely forgotten about Little Shoals.  The water level had been up enough that we thought it wouldn't be a factor.  So much so, that we thought we had already passed it the day before.  My wife and kids had been staring at them for 10 minutes or so before we got there.  I went just down stream of them to help calm them (didn't help much honestly) and to help them so they didn't have to keep clutching onto something, anything, on the shoreline.  Shawn, Debi, and Casey went to the otherside (left) of the river and scouted out a path from there.  We were in radio contact discussing what we were going to do.

I have done rapids before in rafts and small ones in a canoe before.  I was more than comfortable with going down these but I knew the Hobie kayaks with their mirage drives and rudders could take a beating on the rocks.  We pulled the drives out completely but left their leashes connected just encase.  After figuring our best path was to hug the shoreline on the right side we waited trying to calm the kids nerves.  While waiting, Casey left to shoot his rapids.  After going through, he said that it wasn't that big of a deal really.  That was news to my ears because that is what I thought too...as long as there weren't any hidden rocks.

After Shawn and Debi floated through unharmed, it was our turn.  We said a prayer (seriously) and off we went.  Savannah trailed me while Angelia trailed Maria.  I called out behind me directions on which side to paddle.  I didn't want to look behind me too much because that would affect my direction of travel as well.  When I saw Savannah, she was screaming because she was scared and her boat was going sideways at some points.  Honestly, the rest is a blur but we all got through it safely.  Later one night, Maria was describing this portion of the trip to her mom.  She said Savannah was scared half to death.  Savannah responded it was more like three quarters!

Perry Springs (spring with cave/bridge)

This was the first clear spring that would visit.  We were anticipating a very nice spring with clear water.  Suwannee Springs was a disappointment because it was still had the dark river water in it which made exploring it impossible.  This did not disappoint us.  We first stopped at where the spring water dumped into the river.  We were greeted with gorgeous views and crisp, clear water.  After playing in the area we started to go to the picnic area for lunch.  Before that, a USGS boat pulled up to us to talk.

They were able to give us some history of the area (the two ramps across from each other were used for a ferry for traffic.  This was for a road that stretched from St Augustine to Tallahassee).  We were able to inquire about the large red bouys that we had seen near the shoreline with USGS on them.  They were sonar bouys used to track tagged Sturgeon.  When the left, we paddled over to the ramp so we could get to picnic tables for lunch.

The kids, lovers of all things water, quickly ate their lunch and headed off to the springs.  Soon, Savannah came back telling that we just had to see the springs and when are we coming to swim.  Once we ate,we went down to see the springs.  What we saw is difficult to describe: 3 pools of water that got larger as they went down stream.  The pools were separated by rock formations that had a connecting tunnel to each pool.  Breath taking.

After several attempts I was able to film going through the first tunnel underwater.  Didn't try the second one since I know my limits.  Casey, however, was able to do that with no problem.  Maria dove into the first hole and had no problem making it through either.  Angelia said it was her favorite spring ever.  That means a lot because she loves Kelly Park/Rock Springs in Apopka. We swam and splashed some more before heading out knowing we had another spot to explore.

A Hidden Treasure

Maria had done some extensive research for this trip.  She studied aerial views of the river looking for hidden gems.  This abandoned  rock quarry was one of them.  To passersby, it would have looked like a small river dumping into the Suwannee, but we knew it was the gateway for some exploring.  With a little paddling/peddling upstream we entered a lake about an acre ??? in size.  While most disembarked their boats, Casey and I pushed further.  On the back side, there was a cut that allowed access to another lake about an acre ??? in size.  After taking in the scenery that looked like we were not in Florida anymore, we adventured further.  

The next cut was difficult to paddle/peddle due to the amount of water flowing through it.  After fighting it (Casey ended up breaking his paddle), we emerged into a lake about 2 acres??? in size.  Amazing.  Casey pushed further up another cut but I stayed back due to fatigue from the swimming and paddling.  I did note the depth of the water: 22 feet!  That depth seemed to be pretty consistent throughout the abandoned quarry.  I had to wonder what kind of fish were in there.  Wish I had turned on the fishfinder!  The water was dark like the Suwannee but since the limestone had been mined out, it was deeper than most parts of the river.  

Going back out the cutouts was fun due to the swiftness of the water flowing through them.  Not sure when operations stopped here but we were glad that it was left for us to explore.  This is an area that I would love to explore again.

Unexpected Fun

As mentioned before, there was a lot of research spent going into this trip.  Once Maria got excited, information came in abundance.  There are somethings that you cannot plan on that end up being another highlight: an isolated rope swing.

Shawn and Debi found a sand bar just upstream from where our camp was.  Just a short walk down the shoreline there was a rope swing just begging to be used.  I am sure I have been on one before but it had to be a long time ago.

(verify) Shawn started off by swinging way out but not falling into the water.  He faked us out several times, knowing that the kids wanted him to get into the cold water.  Casey and I also had our go at it.  We all ended up going with the Gopro on our heads, attaching a float to the straps just encase it came off.

Savannah wanted her try and after some instructions, and several attempts she was swinging out towards the water.  With her eyes as big as saucers, we all yelled "Let Go!" and she dropped into the water.  Very proud of her for trying that!

After a lot of laughter and chills from the water we were off to camp.  We were quite tired from all of the activities on the water today but what we saw next was a cause of concern to most.

Stairway of Hell?

There it was staring at us, and mocking us.  The words Dowling Park in state park brown above it.  What it was, was a set of stairs like nothing else.  Five flights of stairs to get to the top.  The thoughts of lugging our gear up and down those ultimate Stairmasters, was disconcerting to the group behind me.  They asked if that was the entrance to the park and I nodded yes.  Maria figured she would just overnight in her kayak,  After lots of grumbling from behind I informed them that it wasn't our destination since our destination was around the bend and on the right.  Yes, cruel but really, really funny.

Improvised Dinner

When planning this trip, I had several surprises built in for my family.  Dowling Park River Camp was one of those.  There is a small town in Dowling Park that has a small restaurant to eat dinner at.  The problem is that they close at 5pm.  I figured we would have to make good time to camp in order to get to dinner in a reasonable amount of time.  I didn't know exactly where the restaurant was located at, nor the best way to get there.  What I knew was that it was gong to require some walking.  Due to the physical difficulties that Maria had experienced the days before, and the overall lack of energy in the kids, I realized that this was something that I may have to change.  After talking with Maria, and then explaining to the kids what my plans were, it was decided to abandoned this sidebar and eat dinner at camp.  But what to eat?

While floating down the river and mulling over my options, I had several ideas.  We could have a combination of peanut butter and jelly wraps (no bread on the trip) or ham and cheese wraps.  We also had plenty of snacks on hand as well.  Then I had an idea: Quesadillas. 

The ladies love quesadillas.  We had the tortillas with several choices for fillings: several types of cheese, bacon, and left over steak.  I used some butter for the pan and viola!  That was a great meal!  It was also fun to make since Maria and I were able to sit a table and talk while each one was made.  It was a nice, relaxing dinner for a change.

Stop Bugging Me

This camp's shelters were on stilts, at least 10 feet off of the ground but probably more.  Since we were the only group there, Angelia setup her own shelter.  While I was taking a shower, she apparently had a run in with several insects: a millepede and wood roaches.  Her uncle Shawn, pest control man extraordinaire, quickly dispatched of them to her liking.

Later that night, with the adults around the campfire and the kids in bed, we heard a noise of her door opening.  Soon after that, here comes Angelia dragging her air mattress telling us that there were more bugs up there and she was staying with us and Savannah.  We all chuckled at her sudden departure from her abode.

Daily Digest

Fun, fun day.  Even though we got beat down by the sun, we enjoyed our day.  Dinner that night and sitting by the fire made it even better.  Just a great day really.