Paddling Journal June 2005

Summertime! The living is easy and the paddling is great - between thunderstorms.

Trips this month: 10
Total trips this year: 47
Hours out this month: 27
Distance this month: 47.5 miles
Distance this year: 249.5 miles

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6/1/05
Put-In : Hannah Mills
Destination : ICW
Time : 4:45 pm
Trip Length : 2 hrs (4 miles)
Temp : 85
Weather : breezy
Water : choppy
Tide : Incoming-Outgoing
Wildlife of Note : Great Blue Herons,  Ospreys, Manatees and Dolphins

Momma Osprey and her chicks

Time for my annual birthday paddle. Fortunately, the almost constant thunderstorms this week let up enough for me to venture out before I had to head back into work later in the evening.

I put-in at Hannah about an hour before high tide but with all the rain the levels were at the flood point. There was strong southerly breeze so I decided to do my usual route in reverse heading directly out to the ICW by way of the outlet that runs by the old marina. There was very little bird life present for the majority of the trip but as I approached the waterway I could see the Ospreys on the manatee zone sign and I knew the wind and current were favorable to float me by their nest and I was sure that the fledglings would be hatched by now.

I expected to at least hear the chirps from the youngsters as I approached but all I could hear was the female who chirped angrily as I glided past. I kept my distance this time and wasn't really looking too closely as I snapped away. It wasn't until later when I looked at my photos that I saw what I had missed. The female was standing in a defensive posture with her wings down and beneath her cowering at the bottom of the nest was at least two fledges. I could see the speckled underside of their wings and one of them was peering at me from the edge of the nest. Apparently, momma Osprey was making sure that they stayed low and quiet as I passed by and it worked since I completely missed them.

I headed on up to the intersection of Shad and Hannah and was going to shorten my trip by heading west toward the old cedar. I could see another Osprey nest in the channel marker there so decided to paddle close to it and check it out since it appeared to be unoccupied. As I approached I saw a large bulbous head appear about 30 yards ahead of me and disappear. There was no mistaking that shape even though I had not seen a manatee in four years. The blossoms that began appearing all around and underneath my boat confirmed their presence although I never saw another head surface. I was about to get out on the bank to get a better angle when four or five dolphins surfaced a few yards away.

I turned my focus to them as they swam close to my boat and even underneath it a few times. The current kept trying to push me into Hannah Mills so I finally a comfortable spot out of the current. By this time they had moved to the opposite side of the ICW and were heading into Shad Creek. They exhibited the typical ebullient behavior of dolphins feeding - jumping completely out of the water several times. As they began to enter Shad Creek they all began to exhale forcefully together and I could see the pure white mist surge six or seven feet above the surface of the water. I've seen them do this before but I have no idea what it means. In the past it seemed to be a warning to me if a youngster was present but this time no one was close to the pod and they all appeared to be fully grown. It my have simply been the dolphins way of saying "Yippeee!!!"

From there I headed directly back and since the wind had died down and the tide had not started out it was an easy paddle back.

It was a nice birthday present to myself.

See the pictures from this trip

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6/3/05
Put-In : Hannah Mills
Destination : ICW
Time : 6:30 am
Trip Length : 3 hrs (4 miles)
Temp : 75
Weather : overcast
Water : light chop
Tide : Incoming-Outgoing
Wildlife of Note : Great Blue Herons,  Ospreys, Night Herons and White Herons

Black Crowned Night Heron

Hope was concerned about the lack of movement from the Osprey chicks that I had seen the other day and I also wanted to spend a little more time watching them so I got up early and hit the water around sunrise and headed toward the ICW. A Black Crown Night Heron in the grove near my put-in caught my eye and when I paddled in that direction I could see that the trees held several of his buddies as it often does this time of year at dawn and dusk.

After shooting him and a Yellow Crowned Night Heron I began making my way toward the ICW. I was momentarily distracted by a large splash and what appeared to be a dolphin fin. I never saw the dolphin resurface and so headed east. As I got close to the waterway I could see the Manatee Zone sign and I could see momma sitting on the sign with two smaller heads below her.

I stopped at a grassy spot north of the sign about 50 yards away and watched momma and the kids interact. After a few minutes I decided to drift by a little close and as I did momma began chirping loudly. The kids responded almost immediately by lowering themselves into the nest and disappearing from view. I floated over to a shell bank a little to the southwest and ate my breakfast while keeping and eye on the sign. I stayed there for about 45 minutes hoping to see the father return to the nest with a fish but he never did. I could hear the mother chirping at the babies in a much more hushed tone than before - almost a reassuring coo.

Toward the end of my stay on the bank, the kids started to get up from their hiding spot and move about and I decided to make my way across the waterway so that I could check out the other Osprey nests in the area. As I floated by, of course, momma chirped and the kids disappeared and I floated on past.

A co-worker had told me about a potential tragedy he had observed at my next destination - the channel tower at Shad Creek. I have observed the Ospreys there for a few years and thought what an ideal spot they had found - far enough off the water to not be disturbed by humans and with a commanding view of the entire area. What has apparently happened there recently shows that the location is not without it's drawbacks. From some distance I could see that something was hanging from the structure - about 10 feet from the top. My co-worker told me that he had been fishing nearby this weekend and saw what he was sure was an Osprey hanging there dead. As I approached, I could hear the chirps of an unseen Osprey. I floated by the structure and could see that there was indeed a dead Osprey caught by it's foot in the crossbeams hanging there. On the other side of the tower - out of the nest was a male Osprey sitting there chirping but otherwise unperturbed by my presence. I couldn't tell the sex or the age of the dead Osprey but it did appear to be big enough to be fully grown. If that is the case - it is probably the female but it raises all kinds of questions. Were there any babies? The nest was silent so I have to think that either they didn't have a successful brood or else the death of the mother doomed the chicks. It could very well be a fledgling there but there are usually two and that wouldn't explain where the female or other chick is. At any rate - it is a sad and rare thing to see but also part of the life cycle of the marsh.

I headed back out to the ICW to check out the nest I had seen the other day on channel marker 82. Earlier, as I was heading toward the tower I had seen an Osprey flying back and forth to the nest from the islands on either side of the waterway. The nest was empty when I floated by I could see that it was an impressive pile of sticks that was definitely lacking the female touch so I assume that this was a male's unsuccessful attempt to attract a female. All three of these nests are within sight of each other set apart by about a mile forming a triangle around the intersection of Shad Creek and Hannah Mills.

From there I headed back to the truck to wrap up my trip.

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6/6/05
Put-In : Cedar Point
Destination : Clapboard Creek
Time : 7:30 am
Trip Length : 4 hrs (8.5 miles)
Temp : 75
Weather : clear, calm
Water :glassy
Tide : Incoming-Outgoing
Wildlife of Note : Great Blue Herons,  Ospreys, White Egrets, Tri-Colors and Dolphins

Dolphins on Cedar Point

It was HOT today - sweltering! When I got in the water at 7:30 the sun was well above the horizon and there was not a breath of a breeze stirring the water. I wasn't sure where to head in Cedar Point but I went north thinking of either heading up toward Pumpkin Hill or else toward the ICW where I could take a dip and cool off.

After eating breakfast at the sea daisy island where Hannah and Cedar join I headed north and was about to take a shortcut to the ICW when I saw the exhale of a dolphin a few yards ahead so I decided to go and investigate. For the next hour and a half and two and a half miles I let a pod of four dolphins be my tour guide as they led me on a long roundabout trek across the marsh from Cedar Point to Clapboard Creek where we finally parted company.

It was an interesting and rewarding experience. There were four dolphins and one of them appeared to be a youngster. I noticed that as I followed them that the youngster was always accompanied by one of the adults and whenever I got too close the other two would reverse directions and swim directly toward me and then begin swimming back and forth in front of me, swimming underneath me and then surfacing next to me - sometimes within five feet or less.

After this had gone on for about an hour I heard the forceful exhale of a dolphin coming from the direction we had just traveled and watched as a fifth dolphin came charging down the creek exhaling in alarm. He joined up with the rest of the pod and hung back to help run interference with the other two "rear guard" dolphins.

Finally, we reached Clapboard Creek and the pod turned north. I had been following them for well over and hour by now and I decided to let them continue on in peace. I had shot over 200 photos by now and was ready to head back south and make my way home.

See the pictures from this trip

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6/8/05
Put-In : Ft. George River (Alimacani)
Destination : Ft. George Inlet
Time : 4:45 pm
Trip Length : 1 1/2 hrs (2 miles)
Temp : 85
Weather : clear, breezy with approaching T-storms
Water :choppy
Tide : Outgoing-Incoming
Wildlife of Note : Great Blue Herons,  Gulls, Terns and Skimmers

Not much of a trip - I've had burner deck duty this week at work and after several hours of working in temps approaching 110 degrees that ocean looked awfully nice so I packed a beer and caught the tail end of the outgoing tide to the very tip of the Huegenot Park sandbar. From there it was a dip - a swim - and a paddle back with the tide as the skies darkened to the west.

I did see one amusing sight as I floated back. A normally shy (at least when I am trying to photograph them) Great Blue was hanging out a few feet behind a family on the beach at Huegenot - hoping for a free meal if any bait got away from the dad. A naked toddler was running around with a towel wrapped around her and tried to chase the Heron which calmly opened its wings, caught the breeze, lifted a few feet into the air and floated just out of reach of the child who soon lost her towel. It wasn't enough to deter the Blue who calmly watched the mother and daughter stroll away and then inched closer behind dad who was fishing. I guess my problem is that I don't bring gifts when I try to shoot the Great Blues.

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6/13/05
Put-In : Ft. George River (Alimacani)
Destination : Simpsons Creek
Time : 10:30 am
Trip Length : 4 hrs (2.5 miles)
Temp : 80
Weather : partly cloudy, breezy
Water :choppy
Tide : Incoming-outgoing
Wildlife of Note : Great Blue Herons,  Gulls, Terns, Ospreys, Reddish Herons, Oyster Catchers and Skimmers

Great Blue Heron on the FGR

Tropical storm Arlene put a damper on our weekend paddling plans but only the remnants remained in the area so we headed out this morning for Hopey's return to the water after her recent surgery.

We got in just after the tide had turned and floated in towards the mouth of Simpsons Creek at Little Talbot Island. Along the way I spotted a Reddish Heron sitting on a sandbar and stopped to shoot him but he was being uncharacteristically calm and boring so continued on to our hammock destination.

We spent the next few hours chilling and vegging in the hot sun. The water and beer was cold and we enjoyed swinging in the breeze reading and swimming in the chilly water. We waited for the tide to turn back and headed back. The wind had kicked up considerably while we were on the island and it made the going slow and tedious but we made it without a problem.

See the pictures from this trip

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6/14/05
Put-In : Cedar Point Creek (Heckscher Dr)
Destination : ICW
Time : 12:30 pm
Trip Length : 3 1/2 hrs (8 miles)
Temp : 90
Weather : partly cloudy, breezy
Water :choppy
Tide : Incoming-outgoing
Wildlife of Note : Great Blue Herons,  White Egrets and Dolphins

Great Blue on Cedar Point Creek

It was swelteringly hot today as I put in at Cedar Point. There were storm clouds forming to the west but the east was clear and blue. As I headed out my attention was grabbed by the call of a crow overhead and I looked to see a small hawk-like bird circling overhead as a crow cawed and swooped on him. What was really strange was that we had seen almost the exact same thing two days ago above a parking lot in the Regency area - same species of birds and everything. The hawk was ignoring the crow for the most part as he circled directly above me - a pretty hard thing to do since the crow was occasionally nicking the hawk on the wing.

There were several White Egrets along the grass line and a few Great Blues so I spent some time shooting them before heading north. As I entered the northern branch I saw three Dolphins surface heading in the opposite direction. I decided to not follow them this time but crossing paths with them again reminded me about the shortcut I had intended to investigate the last time I was out here - before the Dolphins led me in the opposite direction.

I found the branch and quickly made my way east toward the ICW. I soon realized that I was in a stream I had investigated last October when I had camped on the island at the mouth of Cedar Point. I was now directly south of that island and I knew I was just yards away from the White Pelican pool so I tried to find the way into it again. I gave up after a while and then found the connection back to the main branch of Cedar Point where it comes out just west of the camping island.

From there the stiff ocean breeze made me head back west instead of taking the ICW route. It was interesting to see the effect the sea breeze was having on the weather. As I mentioned before - it was stiflingly still at my put-in to the west but here - a few miles east it was quite breezy and it was keeping the darkening skies to the west at bay. There was a definite line of demarcation that began just west of the waterway and over the years we have observed the same thing in the summer time. Usually, the thunderstorms win-out because as the afternoon wears on the sea breeze weakens and today that appeared it would be the case as well as I began to hear the rumbles and the sky got increasingly dark.

I stopped at the sandbar located just south of Cedar Point and ate lunch and drank a beer. I watched as a huge flock of Little Blues flew overhead and appeared to head toward Pumpkin Hill. The rest of the trip was easy and uneventful.

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6/16/05
Put-In : Pumpkin Hill
Destination : Tiger Point
Time : 5:00 pm
Trip Length : 2 hrs (4.5 miles)
Temp : 90
Weather : partly cloudy, breezy
Water :choppy
Tide : Incoming-outgoing
Wildlife of Note : Great Blue Herons,  Roseate Spoonbills and Cormorants

Spoonbills on Tiger Point

Pumpkin Hill has been in the back of my mind for quite a while but I was shocked when I reviewed my journal and found that it had been over seven months since I was last there. With the family off doing stuff, I made a quick stop at Wendy's after work and got my boat in the water just after five to rectify the situation.

It was another blisteringly hot day and I almost regretted not heading instead to the FGR and chilling out on a sandbar but a southerly breeze made my going easy against the last of the incoming current.

I didn't see much wildlife on the way up to the point and I was beginning to think the day was going to be a bust as far as photography was concerned but I still had hopes that I would be rewarded with bright pink fruit once I achieved my goal.

As I made my way around the point I thought at first that my hopes would be dashed as I could only see the silhouettes of a pair of cormorants up in the trees. I could hear a familiar faint quacking sound and I caught a glimpse of pink flashing through the branches. As I cleared the point I was rewarded by the sight of about a dozen Roseate Spoonbills scattered through the branches overhanging the water.

I floated slowly past them and as usual, they passively watched me occasionally quacking and sometimes flying off to do a quick circle around the pool in front of the point before lighting back on their roost. About six of them flew off and made a beeline for the other roosting spot I have observed across the Edwards Flats on one of the Broward Islands but the rest were content to watch me float by. A Green Heron flew out from the trees and began flying ahead of me from branch to branch - sticking his wild crest up in alarm as I approached.

After making one pass, I paddled back towards the point and was going to exit my boat to eat on shore but a couple of quick bites from yellow flies changed my mind and I stayed in the water where the stiff breeze could deter their lighting on me. I sat back and ate my sandwich, drank my beer and watched one of the Spoonbills watching me through a break in the trees. When I was finished I made another quick pass by the trees and then started on my journey back into a stiff breeze and slack tide. It was slow going but I didn't push it and I was back at the put-in in just over 30 minutes - scaring up some Great Blues along the way.

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6/21/05
Put-In : Hannah Mills
Destination : ICW
Time : 6:15 pm
Trip Length : 2 hrs (4 miles)
Temp : 80
Weather : partly cloudy, breezy
Water :choppy
Tide : Incoming
Wildlife of Note : Great Blue Herons,  Ospreys, Terns and Crows

Crows harassing an Osprey with a fish

Hopey had a meeting this evening so I decided to come home and grab a quick bite before heading out for an evening paddle in Hannah Mills.

I made it into the water a little after 6 and headed directly into a stiff Nor'Easterly breeze and a strong mid-tide current. It was tough going crossing the main pool with a pretty good chop on the water. Once I crossed, I ducked into the branch that heads directly toward the Kingfish Park and found much calmer water but an even stronger opposing flow. I made good progress, however by crisscrossing the stream and staying out of the strongest current.

As I approached the place where the stream curves either toward the old marina or up toward the old cedar I cut across and took one of the smaller branches that leads directly out to the ICW just west of the Manatee Zone sign and the Ospreys who have nested there.

I could see from a good ways away that the adult female was in her usual spot above the nest and a nearly fully grown chick was standing next to her. All around the sign was a large flock if Least Terns who were fluttering and swooping over the water resembling a flock of large butterflies.

I made one pass by the nest and unlike the previous occasions the female appeared to be much less concerned by my presence. She chirped as usual but with less urgency and the youngster that was visible seemed unperturbed as well. As I pulled over to the bank to watch I could see that they were working on the remains of a meal and the second chick popped its head above the sign as well.

After that I decided to criss-cross the small streams that run parallel to the waterway in that area and eventually I wound up near the Great Blue Rookery across from Shad Creek. On the leeward side of the island a large group of White Egrets had gathered but they all flew off as I came in view. They flew directly across the ICW to the Heron Hangout Island which was already covered with the large white birds and I could hear the groans and croaks as the other birds joined them.

I headed south and re-entered the main branch of Hannah where the old cedar is. I could see some crows gathered on the branches and they seemed to be agitated - flying from branch to branch cawing. As I got closer I could see an Osprey at the very end of the Cedar and the crows were boldly challenging it - flying up and landing on either side and sometimes swooping down on it. I was wondering what was causing this activity when the Osprey - now aware of my approach decided to move on. It was then that I could see that he had the remains of a large fish which he decided to finish eating elsewhere. The Crows immediately descended on his perch and began fighting over the scraps. They didn't give up their claim easily either and I was nearly into the tree before the last Crow abandoned the tree.

From there it was an easy paddle back and although I originally had considered staying out until the simultaneous moonrise sunset on this Summer Soltice - I changed my mind and headed home.

Incidentally - this trip was my 45th of the year and 300th since I have been keeping track in this journal!

See the pictures from this trip

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6/24/05
Put-In : Santa Fe River (Ginnie Springs Boat Ramp)
Destination : Blue Springs
Time : 11:30 am
Trip Length : 2 hrs (3 miles)
Temp : 85
Weather : partly cloudy, breezy
Water :swift
Tide : N/A
Wildlife of Note : Cattle Egrets and Turtles

We're back in High Springs at the Grady House B&B to do some more exploring of this beautiful area near the confluence of the Santa Fe and Suwanee Rivers. Hope will be heading on to Camp Weed for her conference on Sunday and I will head back to Jacksonville.

Today we decided that we wanted to do some snorkeling at Ginnie Springs and we know better than to visit there on a Saturday so after breakfast we made our way over. We decided to go paddling first and then cool off in the springs so after getting lost in the campground we got in the water at 11:30.

We were greeted by a sight we have never seen before in 12 years of coming to Ginnie - a Santa Fe River that was full of swift flowing water. After years of drought the recent rains as well as the hurricanes that criss-crossed this area last fall have filled the aquifer and the water levels are back to normal.

For us it meant that a normally easy paddle upstream was much more strenuous as we headed toward Rum Island to the east. Normally, the only difficult parts were where the eel grass floated on the surface and made paddling a chore but now that grass was well covered.

We took frequent breaks off to the side in the cypress knees and with Hope's recent surgery (just a month ago today) we began to think we wouldn't make it all the way but after a rest she always felt like pushing on. We finally reached the Blue Springs run and I had planned to paddle down it since in the past it has been too shallow - but there was construction going on on their boardwalk so we didn't. We could see Rum Island just ahead but there was a pretty good crowd there so we turned and headed back to the ramp. What had taken us over and hour and a half to go against the current took only 15 minutes going the other direction.

Almost no wildlife to speak of and few photo ops. On our way back we did hear the distinctive call of a Red Shouldered Hawk but we never saw him.

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6/25/05
Put-In : Santa Fe River (Bible Camp Rd Boat Ramp)
Destination : same
Time : 12:00 pm
Trip Length : 3 hrs (5 miles)
Temp : 80
Weather : partly cloudy, breezy, rainy
Water :calm, slow moving
Tide : N/A
Wildlife of Note : Swallow-Tailed Kites, Red Shouldered Hawks, Egrets and Crows

Swallow Tailed Kite over the Santa Fe

Hopey wasn't feeling too well this morning so we delayed our planned trip to O'Leno by a couple of hours and the plan was to leave her at the park while I paddled the Santa Fe upstream of the park. We checked in at the ranger's station to renew our park pass but the staff there informed me that they were not allowing put-ins due to the high water conditions. They told me about another place outside of the park so we decided to check it out.

It turns out that it was a ramp that one of my paddling books mentioned but had said was a private ramp. It's very much public now and is at the end of a long dirt road called "Bible Camp Road" and is located just a few yards west of I-75.

By now Hope was feeling well enough to paddle and so we set out into a very slow moving current and headed east under the interstate bridge. The noise from the traffic was oppressive but the scenery was beautiful and we soon put a couple of bends of the river between us and the poor idiots headed to Disney World and the sound quickly faded away.

This part of the river was amazingly remote and quite different from the other parts we have paddled. We saw only three other boats and only two houses in the three mile stretch we paddled. Unlike the stretch below High Springs - this stretch has high sandy banks most of the way and in addition to the ubiquitous cypress there are also large sections of willow swamp along the way. According to what I have read, a few miles east of where we were the river runs through a place called "Confusion Willow Swamp" that is very hard to negotiate.

We made our way up to a spot where a section broke off to the left and we continued on in the main branch for about another mile or so. At this point the weather which had been threatening all morning started to cut loose with a light rain so we decided to turn back. The current was slow and steady but the breeze was at our back which made our trip easy and we were serenaded along the way by a chorus of tree frogs who let us know that it was raining in case we had missed it.

As far as wildlife was concerned there were few photo ops. Toward the end of our trip out we saw several Swallow Tailed Kites swooping over the tree tops and one of them stayed right over our heads for a while. We could hear the Red Shouldered Hawks again and on a few occasions we saw them flying far overhead but none came too close. A large hawk flew out from a tree as we approached the ramp on our way back but I never could identify him. It was a very scenic section of the river, however and we look forward to coming back.

See the pictures from this trip

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6/26/05
Put-In : Starting Point of Road Trip - High Springs
Destination : Jacksonville
Time : 10:30 am
Trip Length : 7 hrs (285 miles)
Temp : 80
Weather : partly cloudy, breezy, rainy
Water :N/A
Tide : N/A
Wildlife of Note : N/A

The Suwannee River at Rock Bluff Springs where 340 crosses

I don't usually include road trips in this journal but I guess technically this was a paddling journey since our boats were strapped to the rack the entire time even if the only water they saw was from the sky.

Hope and I used to do this quite often 27 years ago when we were first married and it came from my love of doing it when I was in high school outside of Nashville. Driving the back roads of the south taking pictures was something I used to live for and I think that a lot of what drives me when I am paddling the marshes of the Timucuan is that same desire to see what is around the next bend.

One of the nice things about the location of High Springs is the fact that you are so centrally located to a lot of interesting areas that are not your typical tourist destinations in Florida. A quick look at our gazetteer and my USGS software showed me that we were a mere 35 miles from a town we have wanted to visit for some time - Steinhatchee - a fishing village located on the gulf where the river of that name drains. We packed up and left the Grady House at 10:30 am and headed east on 340 with the intention of checking out many potential put-ins along the way.

Our first stop was on the Suwannee River at a place called Rock Bluff. This is about 30 miles south of where the Santa Fe empties into the Suwannee and the river here is quite wide and well populated. It is still a beautiful location and the boat ramp and park is nice although on weekends it is quite busy with power boaters and jet skiers so a mid-week paddle might be advisable.

From there we headed in a round-about fashion toward the gulf taking a road off of 98 on the south side of the Steinhatchee River to a community called Jena which is across the bridge to Steinhatchee. We crossed the bridge and began looking for access to the river or gulf but were disappointed by what we found and did not find. Steinhatchee is Florida's version of a "quaint fishing village" all right but that translates into huge marinas for offshore fishermen, condos and gated communities and no public access to the water. The only public ramp that we could find was on the Jena side and there was no parking available and boaters were having to park blocks away from the water. The river and the gulf both looked interesting but the community of Steinhatchee was truly a disappointment so we headed north on 51 toward Live Oak.
 

Steinhatchee Falls along 51

Not far out of Steinhatchee, however, we were surprised to find that the State of Florida had bought up several points of access along the river - the first one just a few miles from town at Steinhatchee Falls. They have built a beautiful little park with a ramp downstream of a small set of rapids and there was another access point just above the falls. The river here is beautiful - a dark, swift flowing stream about 15 yards wide. Further up we saw another sign for Steinhatchee Springs and followed the road to an undeveloped park along the river. We then crossed over to the east side of the river and followed a dirt road north where we saw at least four other signs pointing down roads that indicated more public access to the River. As disappointing as the town of Steinhatchee was we were pleased by what the state has done to give the public access to this beautiful stream and we are already making plans to come back and explore it further.

Steinhatchee Spring along 51

From there we headed due north and passed through Mayo on our way to Live Oak. Just north of Mayo the road crosses the Suwannee once again at a place called Telford Springs. There is some work being done on the highway 51 bridge closing down one lane. On the southeast side of the bridge is a park with a boat ramp and the area here looks like a great place to paddle with few houses in sight.

The Suwannee just north of Mayo at Telford Springs on 51

We headed on into Live Oak from there and then over to Camp Weed where we said our goodbyes and I headed on home. I had planned to stop and paddle but the length of our drive made me think otherwise so I decided to take the long way home via 90 passing through Lake City and passing by the Olustee Battlefield. In my 20 years in Jacksonville I had never taken this section of 90 and had never seen Ocean Pond so I stopped to investigate. Someone had told me that they thought power boats were not allowed but I could quickly see that it was not true. Indeed it seemed to be a jet ski and power boater's paradise and not very suitable for kayaks. Perhaps a very early morning, mid-week visit would be OK but it didn't look all that interesting - it looked just like it does on the map - a big circle of water.

The St. Marys River at St. George, Ga. on 2

From there I continued on 90 to Glen St. Mary and McClenny where I turned onto 121 and went north. I crossed the St. Mary's River into Georgia but the river here is so small and covered with willows that I never saw the water. I drove quite a ways north until I reached the community of St. George and headed east on 2. On the southwest side of the bridge crossing over into Florida there is a dirt road and a few yards down it is a completely unmarked but apparently public ramp. The river here is beautiful - slow, narrow and dark with pure white sand banks covered by willows. The river flows north from here and is about 20 miles from Boulogne where we put-in back in January. It definitely looked like an ideal place to put-in and paddle in either direction and I am looking forward to heading back.

Nearly 300 miles showed on my odometer when I finally reached the house and my butt certainly felt like it. We saw some new places and as in times past when we have done these little excursions - we will go back and hit the water when we do.

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