Freedom on The Great Loop: Cruising the St John’s River

Yesterday we went upstream hunting alligator and manatee. The St John’s River is one of those which run backwards, south to north. (I was constantly confused thinking we were going north when Rob would say “upriver”. ) It was a gloriously warm and sunny Sunday and not only did we see lots of gators but several manatee (once we learned what to look for). The manatee make “footprints” in the water with their fins… little flat circles along the surface. But many times you’ll see that footprint and they will be too deep to see (or the sun isn’t right). The river here is called “black water” for a reason: the tannins from all the trees and swamp leach into the water and you couldn’t see your own hand if its submerged. Luckily, the manatees have a lighter skin color that will stand out in the sun if they are close enough to the surface. They almost look pink or lavender under that black tannin water.

The other river animals were out sunning themselves as well, including the human variety. We had hoped to visit Blue Springs State Park but it was way too crowded to beach the boat; as was the lively restaurant and resort area we were planning for lunch. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches had to suffice for our lunch instead of the lobster bisque that is their specialty dish. The pod of C-Dories and their hungry skippers headed back to the docks and quickly pulled together another pot luck barbeque.

We did see several gators, of varying sizes, and many turtles…but they are sure hard to spot sunning themselves on logs! We also saw an amazing number of bird species, including a bald eagle (or perhaps an osprey; we could just make out the white head), a wood stork, many different colors of cranes. And for the last few nights we’ve seen an armadillo hanging around the barbeque area.

The C-Brats event was over on Sunday morning, but many people stayed on Sunday night and three of us are staying Monday as well. We really like it here and it’s the perfect time of the year… warm and sunny but no mosquito problem yet. We figure Blue Springs will be less crowded on Monday and we’re told it’s a “don’t miss”. The springs stay warm all winter and the manatees like to gather there during the winter as do several other species of fish. The clear spring fills the river at a rate of xxx gallons per mday. When the manatees move out in the warmer weather, it is the local swimming hole. I’m still not sure I’d want to swim there!

I have spotted the perfect pair of trees to hang my hammock from and life is good.

Ok, I call it literary license... Rob calls it exaggeration. It looked smaller the second day. This non-poisonous water snake lives under the ramp at the end of the dock.