Springs and Manatees

 Today we went to Blue Spring State Park. We came in search of spring water. It has to be clear water. We arrived anticipating the riverboat wildlife tour. The first thing we noticed is that the river is brown, Just like the river water we know from eastern Carolina. Something was remiss. 

The tour was a hot one but it was more productive than we would have thought. We expected to see egrets and alligators, which we did including an alligator with a fish in its mouth. We saw more also including deer and wild turkeys - a bunch of them.  All-in-all it wasn't a bad trip.  

A little more investigation and a short hike and found our clear water - it was just up the creek.  There is a hole; a deep hole that cuts into the Floridan Aquifer pumping millions of gallons of water a day into the creek and it is crystal clear. We watched for Manatees but alas we did not see them. We were told that five of them had been spotted this day but they were just in and out of the stream and then back into the river. We were told that if we were to come back in January we would see literally hundreds of manatees but this was just not their season to be accumulating near the spring water. So we made the best of it by swimming in the cold, cold water.