The forgotten coast & last of the springs

Dec 15, 2021 (sorry I’m behind the times)

last day in the forgotten coast.

St. Marks, Florida and Wacissa River

The St. Marks National Wildlife Reserve is across the street from our campsite, and we heard the lighthouse is adorable. What we never expected, was the shear amount of exploration that could be encountered.

We had springs on the radar, and not much else. Stacey and I got in a look at the place, but barely touched the miles of trails and beaches to be had there. Ah well, we plan to come back someday anyway🤞.

I could photograph this lighthouse for hours🤪

endless walking of this beach too 👍

We did have somewhere else to be, and off to paddle some more springs if you could fathom a guess…

Over to the Wacissa river to rent a canoe from a friendly gentleman with a lot of boats, and a yard full of other toys. We got the slip of paper, they called a map, and then paddled down the little creek full of swamp weed.

Not the easiest map to follow

At first the river was choked of water lettuce and other growth, but then we found the path through. The side channels were also a bit hard to find, but we started to figure out where we had to go to find the springs.

Blue skys and clear springs

This little fellow worked very hard to get to a safe spot

It seemed that each channel had its own guardian gator, and further along a resident gator at the springs. So much for the idea of a swim here… The water was clear coming from the springs, and the creeks flowing from them exciting to explore, we did feel like we were in a Jurassic Park movie set.

Sad to leave the swamps, but we will never stop exploring,👌! Now off to the Gulf Coast & visit friends, and eventually the family for the holidays .