It’s another rainy day in Seattle… Except this isn’t Seattle, it’s Florida, the so-called “Sunshine” state! I asked a local if this weather was normal and I got the look. You know, the “I’m not at all happy about this weather” look. And then we were told that no this is not normal; Florida is the sunshine state! It certainly makes one appreciate the sunny, or even partly sunny, days. So onto the fun part!
We stayed at Wilderness RV in Silver Springs just east of Ocala, Florida for a month (1/11 - 2/11). Best part was the noticeable lack of no-see-ums and access to the Ocklawaha River. The worst part was the water gave off a faint scent of sewer. We spent a bit of time in the kayak on the river.
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| The Ocklawaha River |
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| A big turtle |
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| Turtles on the stump |
These next pictures were taken on the Silver River which is fed by spring water and flows into the Ocklawaha River just upstream from our launching spot. It has much clearer water and is part of the Silver River State Park. We found a lot of wild life here!
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| Find the bird |
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| Alligator sunning (?) with a great heron |
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| A large gator |
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| We love the turtles |
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| A cormorant |
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| Liked the red on their heads |
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| Bird and Turtle |
We took the kayak to Silver River State Park, paid a $6 day use fee so that we could haul the kayak a half mile to the put-in site. Luckily we have wheels for it so it’s not too hard to portage. Especially when Bob’s the one to haul it! It was only two miles from there to the headsprings. Apparently the headsprings are at the heart of the Silver Springs Theme Park and not part of the state park. As we neared them we encountered glass bottom tour boats.
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| Chief Charlie Cypress |
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| Monkey (yes a MONKEY) |
A big draw to the Ocala area are the monkeys that inhabit the Silver River area. These non-native rhesus monkeys were probably brought in by a tour guide back in the 30’s. We were fortunate to see two families of them. Hard to get good pics from the kayak though…
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| Most monkeys were in the trees |
We walked most mornings along this path which is part of the river corridor. We let Willie off leash here after accessing the dangers for a week.
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| And he LOVED it! |
Took a day trip to Daytona Beach. Funny, they’ll let vehicles on the beach but not dogs! Stupid Florida state law!
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| Driving on the beach |
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| Some guy fishing |
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| Driving signs |
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| Not much activity going on |
We tried to spend time exploring the jewels of the Ocala National Forest (one of the reasons I picked Silver Springs/Ocala area) and found that this forest is NOT dog friendly AT ALL. Went into a visitor center and asked where we could go kayaking with a dog and was told pretty much nowhere in the forest. What a Bummer!
Kim (and Bob)
It's really amazing how some places are NOT DOG FRIENDLY, but they let most of the grubbest, trash leaving people visit. Weird.
ReplyDeleteI love the BLOG by the way. Way cool. On top of the technology while on vacation.
Can't wait for the next one.
Hi Guys! Love the blog - I can't believe you got that close to alligators! I wouldn't have the nerve. You should come to Scotland - the dogs are welcome everywhere. Had a lovely dinner in an Inn by the fire (still cold here -- low 50's on a good day) with The Noses at our feet.
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