Leaving NJ

 By leaving one day before originally planned we traveled south after winter storm Gia and before Harper. The roads were clear and the skies sunny all the way to Florida.

 

Congaree National Park, SC

Even though the Visitors Center was closed due to the federal government shut down, all of the trails were open. A 2.5 mile raised boardwalk gave us good views of the surrounding old-growth floodplain forest with numerous bald cypress trees and cypress knees.

  End of our swamp walk                                   Pileated woodpecker

 
Dwarf palmetto palm

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Encompassing 354,000 acres, the Okefenokee Swamp is home to alligators, numerous birds and a variety of large turtles. Most of the swamp is no more than 5 feet deep. In order to enjoy the nature in this swamp we joined Okefenokee Adventures on a guided boat tour. Trails for canoeing are also offered for the more adventurous. In this vast swamp bog, floating islands allow for grasses and flowers to grow as well as resting places for the wildlife. Our walk along the Chesser Island Boardwalk to the Owls Roost Tower provided an expansive view of the swamp.

     
American alligator                                                      Swamp cypress and alligator

    
Canal through the swamp                                                 Shallow waters

     Turtles                                                                           Tour boast

 

Anastasia Island
East of St. Augustine, this barrier island is only one mile wide for its almost 15 mile length. This was our first access to the Atlantic shoreline along 4 miles of dunes and shoreline shared with plovers, sandpipers and pelicans.

     Unidentified shorebird                                          Broken shells wash in ashore

Located within the park are the remains of an Old Spanish Coquina quarry. Coquina is limestone consisting of tiny clam shells cemented by calcium carbonate. This stone was mined in 1669 for blocks to build the Castillo de San Marcos fortress in St. Augustine as well as most of the historic buildings there. The limestone formation extends for 250 miles south to Palm Beach and nearly 30 miles inland being as much as 50 feet thick. Little evidence remains of the stone in the quarry as over the years vegetation has taken root.

 

Princess Place Preserve

Near Palm Coast, we visited the historic Princess Place Preserve to take a short but wet walk through the forest of live oaks, palms and ferns and along a tidal saltmarsh.  The Preserve also includes a restored lodge dating from the late 1800’s.

     Princess Lodge                                                            Path among the live oaks

 

Blue Springs State Park

In their winter home in this park near Orange City more than 200 West Indians manatees swim in the 72 degree water. On a boardwalk along the flowing Blue Springs we watched the manatees play and feed in the crystal clear waters among a great variety of fish. The Blue Spring discharges 104 million gallons of water daily into the St. John River.

In 1971, “The Forgotten Mermaids” episode of the Underwater World of Jacques Cousteau was filmed here bringing attention to the importance of Blue Spring as the manatees winter refuge.

    
Crystal clear springs                                              Resting with friends

         Blue Spring                                                            Well camouflaged

 
Playing at the spring

(double click to play this video)

 

Next stop

Walt Disney World

at Lake Buena Vista.

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