Crooked River by sea

Ok, so along with hiking the trails of Crooked River State Park, we also rented a canoe in the town of St Marys, and took it out on the river. Above shows the low marshy area dominated by sea grass as we approach the mouth of the river. The trees in the distance are Cumberland Island National Seashore. Below shows the riverbankjust downstream of where we pushed into the river. This riverbank is the location of the park, although, as you can see, erosion is taking a heavy toll on it.

Here we took a side trip into one of the sea grass "forrests" near the mouth of the river. Below is the US Navy Submarine base at Kings Bay. Don't get excited, this is about as close as you can get.

On our way back, the tide was going out, expsoing many shellfish communities (seen above). While this was fun and sort of like an amusement ride weaving between shellfish islands that spit water as you go by, it also made traveling through shallow waters a very bad idea, and travel through deeper waters very difficult because of the outward current.
Now we see the approach as we return to the river, and below you can see better the effect of the erosion on the riverbank.

Crooked River by land

Ok, so this is Crooked River State Park, right here in Camden County, GA. I went and looked around here recently when my Father in law came down to visit and camped here. In this post, the pictures from the parks hiking trails. Remember, this area is known for the small but hearty Saw Palmetto, creating forrests seen above.

Looking out at Crooked River

Crab!
This is a baby armadillo

One final note...

Ok, so the Tampa trip is over, minus one thing. This lovely example of an A7 Corsair at a small airport next to I75 just south of 10. The lower picture I took on my way to Tampa, the above picture was taken on my way back. And with that, the Tampa trip is (finally) finished.

San Felasco Hammock

Ok, so this was a sorta unplanned side trip. i had intended to go to Devil's Millhopper state park, but they were closed. (Have I mentioned one of my pet peeves is places being closed on random days?) So nearby was this San felasco Hammock, which is a state preserve, and I decided to take a walk through it to blow some steam before driving home. Turned out, it was not a bad decision. Not that there is anything super spectacular about the place, but it is a very nice place to take a walk, and with the exotic looking plant life and the late day lighting, I did some experimental photography. Here are some of my favorites so you can see what you think.

Mushrooms!

I would really like to know what this stuff is. I have no idea!

A forest of Bamboo (I'm pretty sure)

Coral Snake

Fort King and Ocala

Ok, remember the Dade Massacre? If not, go read that post real quick and this will be a lot more relevant. This is the site of Fort King, in modern day Ocala. This is where Major Dade and his command were marching to when they were attacked. As it turned out, some wondered why the feared Seminole warrior Osceola was not involved in the attack. The reason? He was conducting an attack of his own here at Fort King. On Dec 28, 1835, the same day as Dade's Massacre, Osceola and his group of warriors attacked and killed General Wiley Thompson and some others when they came outside the fort. Osceola had his reasons. As it turns out, this same general had put him in chains earlier for defying US government requests to relocate. What is seen in these photos is the fort cemetary, although it does not say who is buried here specifically and I don't know.


Marker for the Fort King site, a short distance from the cemetary. The site is on private property.

So Ocala, being in Florida thoroughbred country, has its public places festooned with life size horse statues painted in bright colors and pictures. Here are a few I saw while trying to find info on Fort King site.

Rainbow Springs

Ok, so this is Rainbow Springs state park, Florida's fourth largest spring. Besides the beautiful spring itself, in the 1930s, the CCC created a lanscaped garden, complete with native plants and man made waterfalls. Sounds cheesy, but it is actually very nicely done. Anyway, I just took a look around and here you can see for yourself what a nice place this is.

Fort Cooper

Ok, so this is Fort Cooper state park. Let's just say I'm a little dissapointed. See the photo above? Yeah, the photos online of the park look just like it, giving a sense that there is in fact a reconstructed fort there. Well guess what, there isn't. It's just about 10 feet of reconstruction, seen above. Camera angle is a wonderful thing. Ah, but I digress... The following info is from the state park website: "In April 1836, during the Second Seminole War, Major Cooper was ordered to remain behind to protect the sick and wounded as General Winfield Scott marched south to present day Tampa. Major Cooper was left in the command of five companies of the First Georgia Battalion of Volunteers and a small artillery company. A field fortification was built on the western bluff of Lake Holathlikaha. Major Cooper was to hold this position as he waited for reinforcements.Seminole War Chief Osceola and his Indian warriors encamped themselves across the lake from Fort Cooper. There were several skirmishes with the Seminoles, but the volunteers held their own. On April 18, General Scott returned with supplies and reinforcements, leading the men of Fort Cooper from their frontier sanctuary and into new battles.The fort site was well chosen. The western bluff offered the strategic advantage of being nestled in the fringe of a hardwood hammock, while having access to a wagon road that was under the cover of longleaf yellow pine."

Above is Lake Holathlikaha, below is the military road. Remember the one Major Dade's command was on? They didn't get this far.

This was the site of Fort Cooper.
A marker (front and back) found nearby.