We went camping at Blue Springs State Park...

and it was awesome. This was the first time Jen (my wife) and I had gone camping in decades. For me, camping was always a blast, but I was a kid and didn't have to worry about things like putting up the tent, cooking food, worrying about critters, etc.

We made it to the park (only four hours later than I wanted) and driving to our site, I was a little disappointed. My family used to go camping at Manatee Springs State Park and the camping area was pretty open, so socializing between campers was pretty easy. However, Blue Springs State Park's campground is placed in the middle of a scrub brush area, so it's really thick small trees and brush. But, I must say, I ended up totally enjoying the Park.

We managed to get the tent up and then Jen and B, my 8 year old stepdaughter, had to take a trip into town for a few things we had forgotten. They finally made it back after a small adventure (everything closes at 10 pm!) and we made dinner. Halfway through dinner, B stood up straight and her eyes got really wide.

RACCOON!' she yelled and pointed. Sure enough, a raccoon had come within feet of our table from the brush. I scared him off, but he only retreated a few feet into the brush and circled around our site. He was a cute critter, but it's a shame people feed him or are careless with their stuff. He visited again the next two days we were there, getting more bold and less worried about some 6'4" guy yelling and swinging a paddle at him. (And of course I had no intention of hitting him, but raccoons are known for getting rabies...) This one was fine, he was just a beggar.

B wanted nothing to do with the raccoon. She turned around and stomped to the car and sat inside for about twenty minutes. Then, seeing that the raccoon didn't in fact eat either me or her Mom, she decided we had things under control. She even got a laugh out of me trying to shoo the critter away.

We finally went to bed and did I sleep like a log or what! The temperature was really nice and it was incredibly peaceful. I woke up totally refreshed and ready to go. However, the women on the trip were still happily snoozing away. I threw on a tshirt and headed to the restroom. I love camping, but I think I'll stick to campsites with a restroom and a shower, thank you very much! The restroom was very clean and the shower was great.

By the time I got back to the camp, the women were stirring a bit so we all got up and had breakfast. Pancakes, bacon and Oj. We got the pancake mix that comes in a plastic jar. You add water and shake it up then pour it on the griddle. Let me tell you, I'm no gourmet cook or food critic, but those pancakes tasted as good as any my Dad has ever cooked and my dad rocks at cooking anything related to breakfast, but he absolutely excels at pancake making. Try them out.

Soon after, we headed to the Spring, for our first time using the tandem kayak. To put it bluntly, it didn't work. I can paddle it just fine by myself, but trying to tell my wife how to paddle with me and watching B in between us wasn't happening. We sort of managed moving but it wasn't pretty. We headed up towards the spring head and there was a lookout over the water. One of the kids asked if we saw the manatee. We looked and sure enough, there were two, about ten feet away. One of them even swam under us. They were both quite large and B was very excited at seeing the manatees.

Jen and B were a little apprehensive about the alligators in the water and they decided to take the two hour river cruise and let me paddle alone. So that is what we did. None of the gators in the Spring area were too big but they were still a little scary when you are almost eye level to them.

I dropped them off and headed out onto the St. John's River. What a beautiful river. As soon as I turned out onto the river, I saw an owl. I kept paddling and came to a buoy and took a break to slather on some more sun screen (since I had found out the Bullfrog Sunblock sucks!) and open a Coke. I then paddled for a couple more miles before the weather started taking a turn for the worse.

I made it back to the buoy and looked about ten feet to the left, near the side of the river. Sitting there quietly was a huge alligator. His head was at least two and a half feet long, which means to me, this was a fairly big gator. I looked for a minute, then decided I needed to head on back to firm ground.

I made it back to the Park with no other mishaps, except for being drenched in the daily afternoon storm, but that was fine with me, it cooled me off.

Later we spent some time swimming in the spring (far enough away from the alligators) and it was freezing. But after a minute or two, it was exhilarating. We then walked up to the Headspring. This is some beautiful land and you could almost see the first explorers, paddling a wooden canoe up to the headspring.

Later that evening, I was bushed. I was more tired than the first night, but I kept waking up after dozing off. In the morning, both B and I woke up with sinus headaches. We took some medicine and it cleared up after an hour or so. I hope she doesn't have sinus problems, I have had sinus headaches for years and they suck. We had another excellent breakfast of pancakes, bacon and OJ and B and I headed to the swimming area.

We got in the water (slowly, that water is COLD!) and spent a little while freezing until a park ranger showed up and started yelling for us to get out of the water. Everyone did and not a second later, a manatee swam into the swimming area. He swam in and made a swim-by, then turned around and went to the center of the swimming area and parked. B and I watched him intently, although a couple of swimmers were a bit bothered that they had to get out of the water so an endangered animal could swim around. A few minutes later, the manatee swam back out so the people were allowed back in and we headed back to the camp to load everything up.



This is the area that you put kayaks in the water. The area beyond the rope is the St. John's river. There was usually a smallish sized alligator patrolling this area. While waiting for the women to get back from their cruise, I watched him for about 45 minutes. Of course, when I brought the camera, he was nowhere to be seen.



Can you see the Gar and mullet in this shot? There were some huge Gar in the water, four feet long I'd guess.



B at one of the observation decks, looking at the Gar, Mullet and other fish in the water.



Jen and B on the walkway.



The Headspring. This was a very beautiful area of the park.




More shots from the Headspring area.







Various shots of the Park.

Some words to go along with the pictures below:

Being totally new to kayaking, I was dying to get out on the water. But, being a stepdad of an eight year old and the father of a five month old, time to go paddling is fairly hard to come by.

We had already reserved a campsite for the weekend after Memorial Day, but as luck would have it, I had Memorial Day all to myself. My stepdaughter was at her Father's, the wife was at work and my Mom wanted to watch my son. So, after tying the kayak to the roof of the campmobile and loading up the baby, I was on the interstate, heading to my parent's home.

I must have done a good job of tying the kayak down, since it was still attached after a 25 mile trip at highway speeds. I rechecked it and it was still secure so I headed to the Wakulla River.

I had been canoeing down the Wakulla once a few years ago, soon after I had moved back to Tallahassee. On that trip, there were eight of us in four canoes. I remember the trip being very easy, with beautiful scenery. We saw many turtles, birds and seven or eight manatees. I found the put in spot and a fellow kayaker helped me get the boat in the water. I can do it alone, but it is fourteen feet long and weighs over 80 pounds, so help is appreciated.

I was in the water, slowly floating under the bridge. There is something about being in a kayak, so low to the water. It's an intimate, personal feeling. Quickly after setting out in the kayak, I quickly find myself forgetting about the office, money and the cell phone.

On my previous trip, we had plans to paddle all the way to the fence that spans the river, marking the Wakulla Springs Park. We didn't make it but this time, I decided I was going to paddle all the way there. I wasn't too sure how far it was, but I felt I was up to it.

Starting out, I went slowly, soaking in the surroundings, appreciating the sights, sounds and smells of the water. There were quite a few other boaters on the water, canoes, power boats and quite a few kayaks. Most everyone would speak but I was always a bit surprised the few times fellow kayakers wouldn't speak.

A lot of the time, though, I was all alone to enjoy the trip. What really surprised me is how ignorant I am of the local wildlife. I have lived in this area for most of my life, and honestly couldn't tell you what fish I saw. I did see some big fish, though. I have a feeling my next trip will have a bit more information about the local fauna and animals.

What actually turned out to be halfway to the fenceline, I stopped and had a Coke and some Pop-tarts. I think I have found a good paddling snack, and of course, I didn't litter. I carried my trash out with me.

Soon after, I heard the sound of thunder from behind me. I had been taking peeks and it was getting stormy behind me. I considered turning around, but noone else seemed too worried so I kept paddling. A few minutes later, I came around a bend and saw a bridge. The bridge had a number of kids screaming and jumping off into the water. Behind the bridge, I saw the fence. I had made it.

I coasted for a few minutes and had another Coke. It would have been very relaxing, but the noise from the cars and trucks passing over the bridge, the screaming kids, their parents and their parents car stereo made me paddle out a little sooner than I wanted.

On the way back, I came to a small island in the river. On the right side, some kids were in a boat on the right side of the river, casting all the way to the left side of the river. Ok, first rude people I had seen all day. Way to hog the river, boys. I took the route on the left.

I was coming close to the end of the island when twenty feet ahead of me, a manatee surfaced. Wow! I am two for two seeing manatees on the Wakulla. Sadly, in the time it took me to reach behind me and fish my camera out, the manatee had submerged. I circled around the area for a few minutes but the rude jerks barged their way in and continued with their method of basically hogging the entire river. I slowly paddled around them and kept going.

I then passed a group of about twelve kids in a mixture of kayaks, canoes and one paddle wheel boat who were making a ton of racket. They were having a blast and enjoying themselves.

I kept paddling and realized I was getting a bit tired. Well, I was already tired. Finally, not a moment too soon, I saw the Highway 98 bridge and pulled up to the shore. I then stood there for a minute, trying to decide if I was too worn out to wrestle the kayak onto the top of the Campmobile. I spied a family of four in two kayaks nearing the shore so I decided to wait a minute and see if they would help me and they graciously did. They were really nice and gave me some info on a whitewater kayaking trip they have gone on in Alabama, only a few hours from here. I'll definitely have to try it....maybe next year when I'm a bit more experienced.

So, overall:

Number of turtles seen: 5
Number of fish seen: 30+
Number of alligators seen: 0
Number of alligators that saw me: 10+/-
Number of manatees seen: 1
Number of deer fly bites: 3
Amount of sunburn: Nice red patch on my left leg, sandal burn line
Amount of Bullfrog Sunscreen and Deep Woods Off applied: Copious Amounts.
Amount of fun had: More than a bit of sunburn and three deer fly bites can overcome.

Some Photos from the Wakulla River (or a better title: Bullfrog Sunblock sucks!)