Peace River Fossil Hunting Part II

It has been way too long since I have posted anything and I have a resolution to become better about that.  I still have lots of adventures to share.  This one is from just a couple days ago.  It has been fairly dry around here and this is the best season to go to the Peace to look for shark's teeth and such.  We decided to take a friend and his son kayaking and fossil seeking with us.  We called an outfitter on the River in the area to try to rent a kayak for our friend.  They weren't equipped/flexible enough to help us with what we needed, which was basically a kayak at the Gardner boat ramp that we could use for a half a day.  Also, she told us the Peace was very dried up in that area..which we found hilarious when we actually got to our destination (and not true).  We finally found an outfitter to help us out.  Off the Wall Adventures in Lakeland rented us a kayak for the day that we picked up with our own trailer.  John and I have our own kayaks, and we put our two boys and their friend on our Ocean Duo tandem.

Our friend with his son at the launch point

It was cold when we got up - 40 something degrees in Lakeland.  Normally way too cold for me to venture out, but the forecast called for upper 60s and no wind, so I decided to layer up and make the best of it.  I spent the night before at Sports Authority looking for quick dry pants for women - not to be found.  Apparently all they carry is running/exercise gear.  I ended up borrowing a pair from my husband that I wore with my board shorts.  A combination of too many Christmas cookies on my part and my husband being trim and fit meant the pants almost fit me.  A quick dry, long sleeve turtle neck, quick dry long sleeve button down, hat and sunglasses covered me up sufficiently to keep my cold weather whining to a minimum.  The kids are pretty hardy.  My oldest is going through some tough guy phase or something and it can be fifty degrees out but he swears 'It is not cold'.  We made him wear a sweatshirt.  

It was our friends first time on a kayak so my husband provided a little bit of instruction.  We put my oldest in the back and my youngest in the middle and their friend at the front of the tandem so he could get his first paddling experience as well.  We launch from a boat ramp that we call the Gardner Boat Ramp but you can't find 'Gardner' in most GPS - officially it is located in Zolfo Springs, FL.  The road going down to the ramp is called River Road.  It's on South 17.  There is a field of ever changing crops - at least the few times I have been I have seen squash, dried up crops, and this time it looked just like an empty field.  There is a concrete boat ramp but also a big, sandy beach perfect for launching kayaks.  

Ready to go!

We paddle upstream a short distance to an inlet on the right called Charley's Creek.  The current was moving at a decent pace.  The water was a little higher than we expected, especially after the nearby outfitter told us it was dry.  My husband kept an eye on the kids and made adjustments a few times.  My oldest and youngest quibble often, even while paddling blaming one or the other if they go off course.  I heard and saw a Belted Kingfisher, but couldn't get a picture.  A beautiful hawk was perched atop a skeleton tree.  Warblers flitted about.  I was at the front of our party and I could see ahead in the distance a group of cows on the banks to the right, and a group of them standing in the water.  Every once in awhile, a cow would appear from the top of the bank and run down a hill, chasing off the other cows.  The location is so remote and beautiful.

We put my youngest in front in the middle of the way up the Creek.  He really gets into the paddling. 

The 'island' I like to stop and look for shark's teeth and fossils had a large cow residing on the banks.  He made me a little nervous so I asked my husband to go ahead of me.  We ended up paddling a bit past the cow to the next bank to get out.  Eventually the cow moved on..I didn't actually see where he went.  We spent  some time digging in the gravel with my husband's home made screening systems.  We are both fans of gold rush so we pretended like we were miners. 

I always pack a lunch for our kayaking day trips.  Since we had guests, I packed extra food.  Hard boiled eggs, peanut butter, apple slices, pretzel chips, cheddar cheese, clementines, oatmeal raisin cookies, goldfish crackers, and several different types of snack bars and Z bars for the kids.  We found a wonderful little picnic spot high up on the bank, a flat grassy area.  The presence of cows was obvious with all the cow patties around..other than that, it was a wonderful sunny spot to sit and eat.  We watched some white pelicans flying high overhead and warmed up in the heat, temps getting up to the 60s finally.

The trip back downstream to the beach is much easier since it goes with the flow of the current.  You can just float downstream if you want.  As we loaded the kayaks up to go back downstream we noticed one of the kids' paddles was missing.  We couldn't find it for anything..so I took the kid watch on the trek downstream while my husband kept his eyes peeled for the missing paddle.  He found it downstream stuck in some branches so we lectured our kids about responsibility.  My oldest paddled solo downstream because of the missing paddle.  All in all, it was a wonderful, clear day, hardly any wind and despite the cold start, warmed up nicely.  We found a decent amount of small shark's teeth and a very interesting looking tooth we guess to be a horse tooth.  Still on the hunt for the giant megalodon tooth!

Peace River Fossil Hunting

What a great trip with the kids!  We put-in at the Gardner boat ramp on the Peace River.  John and I took our singles and the boys took the tandem. 

The river is pretty wide and the current is not too swift for the half mile upstream paddle to Charley's Creek, the place to find all the fossils. 

The high banks are a good place to stop for lunch.  Watch out for fire ants and keep an eye out for other wildlife.  

John made us screens to filter through the gravel at the bottom of the creek bed with materials from Lowe's.   They worked perfectly.  We used the boy's beach shovels to scoop up the gravel and sift through the screens.  We found lots and lots of small shark's teeth.  We are still looking for a Megalodon tooth.  This trip was done in January based on the photograph dates..I do recall another trip we made to this exact location before when it was during rainy season and the creek was too flooded to do this.  We saw a huge cow in the water and a floating ant colony..also the water was moving much faster. 

The creek is shallow enough to let the boys wander and explore..they had so much fun looking for fossils.  We can't wait to go back when the water gets lower again.

Chipola River and Tallahassee Trip

This post is being pulled from my distant memory.  We made a trip to North Florida last November to explore some new waterways.  We stayed in Tallahassee at the Governor's Inn..interesting finding parking downtown with the kayaks on the roof of the truck..but the valet managed it.  On the day of our arrival we stopped at Maclay Gardens for a beautiful stroll, even if it was a bit cold.

  We set out early on the next morning seeking an area near Natural Bridge.  It was brisk and chilly so I wore long sleeves and a kayak shirt John gave me..it warmed up quickly though as I paddled.  The location was remote and it was a nice paddle.  

Day two on my agenda was to visit Marianna Caverns and paddle from the State Park on the Chipola River.  In the Summer, we had taken the boys to the Smoky Mountains and everyone had a blast looking for salamanders.  I was delighted to find one underground in Florida in the caverns.

The Chipola River was gorgeous and even showing Fall colors - a rarity in Florida, especially Central Florida where we live.  But, this was North Florida in November..a tad too cold for us honestly though you warm up while paddling.

I am an avid bird watcher and even though I have seen lots of pied billed grebes there was something fun about watching this little cutie swim in front of our kayaks. 

Another part of this trip included a visit to St. Marks.  It was a birder's paradise there.  I ran into more bird fans that knew more about birds and had bigger lenses for their cameras than I did.

I freaked out when I saw the Shovelers..was first time I have seen them in the wild.  Also, I was pretty sure the two small ones were Green Winged Teals but one of the other birding experts told me it was too early for them to be here.  I consulted my bird books when I got home and still believe I was correct. 

Admittedly, I took more bird pictures than anything else.  I am still learning to use my Canon Rebel EOS digital SLR and these were taken with a zoom lens.  I didn't use a tripod..I am too active and moving around constantly for that..so the images are more blurry than the ones I take with my short lens and image stabilizer.  I have to take a dozen photos to get one to come out the way I like it. 

There was an abundance of monarchs.  We saw some with sticker tags on their wings; they are part of some tracking program.  Looking back at this picture now and knowing more about butterflies than I did then, I also see some sort of skipper on the edge of this picture.

The last paddle of our trip was at Econfina River State Park on the way home from North Florida.  The water levels were low and we had to pass through several areas of exposed limerock in certain spots..nerve wracking in kayaks you don't want to scratch. 

We paddled past lots of houses on the water and several otters swimming about.  They weren't too shy but I have heard about otter attacks so I keep my distance.  

Alafia River

We did this trip with the whole family in March.  Put-in at Alderman's Ford and we parked my car downstream.  Hubby and I paddled this river a few weeks prior and took two vehicles but forgot the keys of the car downstream locked inside the truck upstream so several miles down several shoals when we figured it out we had to turn around and try to paddle up shoals.  No easy task!  We made sure we had the keys for the car we had parked downstream.

We had a great time.  The current was not too swift but it was an easy paddle for the boys and they really enjoyed going over the shoals!

Another beautiful Florida river to explore.

Looks like a good place to stop for lunch.

Finally..what kayaking trip on Florida rivers would be complete without seeing a few gators?  Lots of babies piled up sticking out of the water.  Mom was nowhere to be found, thank goodness.

Arbuckle Creek

Arbuckle Creek was a very enjoyable trip we did a few weeks ago.  True Florida weather this time of the year is quite unpredictable.  Despite the looming clouds, we decided to head out.  The put-in was down a dirt road with residential homes/farms.  One of the residents stopped and asked us if we were lost..I ask my husband to drive slow so I can scope out birds and butterflies to photograph.  We told her we were headed to the Creek and we were also looking at some goats near the road on a farm..they were silly looking with long beards.  The lady told us that they were the fainting kind and would fall over if they heard a loud noise.

There was lots of bird activity at the put-in which was at the end of the dirt road; somebody's house was right on the bank.  Across the street was a barb wire fence swamp enclosure.  I saw a Swallow Tailed  Kite and lots of small birds flying through the grasses.  Was able to get a shot of this White Eyed Vireo.  Also saw a White Peacock (butterfly not bird!).

It did end up raining quite a bit.  There was a nice canopy from the Cypress trees, so we would just pull over and find a little shelter from the rain.  The trees were filled with many sizes and varieties of Tillandsia, or air plants, quite beautiful. 

One side of Arbuckle Creek is part of the Avon Park Bombing Range.  Signs are posted all along the banks, in case you forget.  We paddled to Lake Istokpoga?  I believe it was..underneath a bridge to a landing with a floating dock, large grassy bank and picnic tables.  There was a guard station and we had read on the Internet this was a good place to stop for lunch.  We walked up to the guard station to check and he told us we shouldn't be there..but if we just wanted to eat lunch, we could use one of the tables but go nowhere else!  He said..'This is a bombing range you know?'  (Yes, we did know it was a bombing range before we made this trip.)

 No Florida paddling trip would be complete without seeing at least one gator.  This one was a baby.  There was actually a group of them sitting here, but all were scared off by my inching closer for photos except this one who remained for a couple shots.

This location was remote and beautiful.  With about a half mile left to get back to the put-in, a torrential downpour started.  Unlike the previous sessions that would blow past after a few minutes, the sky was quite black all over and lightning was starting up..which I am quite afraid of while on the water.  We marathon paddled for the last half mile and drenched by the time we got back..kayaks filled with water.  Always bring a change of clothes with you!  Our dry clothes and towels were waiting for us inside the truck.