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.

Silver River Monkey Kayaking Adventure

Since I am writing about past kayaking trips..I have begun to realize how many details can be forgotten over time.  I kept a manual journal for some adventures and I take pictures practically everywhere I go.  If it weren't for the date feature on my photographs I would likely not even remember when some of these trips took place.  We bought my Eddyline kayak in 10/2011..not even a year now and it has gotten a lot of mileage!  The best I can tell from the dates, the Silver River was the first trip I took in it.  

How many monkeys do you spot in this picture?  When I zoomed in, I could find 2.  I wanted to go to Silver River to see the monkeys.  We put in at a park in Ocala..sorry, couldn't tell you what park because I don't remember!  That is why going forward I will post all my trips right after they happen instead of a year later!  We paddled down this river towards the Silver Springs Park..I do remember that.  It was a couple miles of paddling before we spotted the first couple 'posses' of monkeys.  It was hilarious.  They were screeching and carrying on, running up and down the trees..I wanted to get some good pictures but also kept a safe distance from the banks..especially when we spotted the alpha male. 

Admittedly, this trip was quite amazing for me.  I mean, how often do you paddle down a river in the US and look up to see groups of monkeys wandering around, chattering with each other, picking bugs out of their hair, eating, and carrying on about their daily lives.  The Internet holds all kinds of information on these little monkey's origins.  Apparently someone wanted to create a monkey island thinking the monkeys wouldn't swim..many years later.. monkeys now roam wild here.  I believe I read somewhere that biologists are concerned with their presence as they are obviously not part of the native food chain.  

We saw two different groups of monkeys on the water and it was fascinating just to sit in our kayaks and observe them.  The first set of monkeys was actually divided into two groups, one on each side of the river.  They were carrying on at each other and after a few minutes..we noticed several of them running up to the tops of the trees and jumping across the expanse of the river.  This was so entertaining to watch.  As you see from the picture above, a small monkey did not make it across and we watched him to do smack dive into the water from twenty feet up or so.  He was ok and managed to miss the gators..we could've been in for a real National Geographic moment had there been any large ones nearby I suppose.  It was really crazy watching a mom with baby attached to her underside jump across..she made it safely. 

While I did take literally hundreds of monkey pictures, I am an avid nature lover, especially birds, and I managed to capture some other subjects on the river as well.  The gators were relatively small.  The one pictured above in the swampy grass was accompanied by three or four more in the background, all about the same size.  We probably saw a dozen gators or so the length of the trip.  Kayaking in Florida all the time, you lose track of how many gators you have seen on every trip - I can tell you one thing - they aren't endangered in my opinion!

I love the camera my husband bought for me a year ago - a Canon Rebel EOS.  I am just a novice photographer but really enjoy it.  These pictures were taken with my long lens, which has a great zoom but the quality is not as good as my short lens which has image stabilizer.  Also, this was a year ago and I think maybe a year of constantly taking pictures I have gotten a little better.  I initially was never going to take the camera out on the water but I see the most amazing things while kayaking so into a dry bag the camera has gone for every trip since. 

I really hope to have my family visit me one day so I can share this trip with them.  I had pulled a muscle in my shoulder and the trip from the put-in to the Silver Springs attraction and back to the put-in again had me hurting.  I am looking forward to going back one day..maybe we will use a shuttle next time.