Sink Hole Trail

It was cold again this morning (around 43 degrees), but warmed up to the mid 70’s by the afternoon.  I walked the Sink Hole Trail today.  It was a short trail, but it had some nice scenery.  Limestone underlies the entire peninsula of Florida.  Slightly acidic rain can dissolve limestone close to the surface and eventually create a sinkhole.  There were several sinkholes like this one along the trail.  I also spent some more time had the main spring.  There were several young people swimming in the spring.  The water is a constant 72 degrees, so they let out a holler when they first jumped in the water.  I saw an armadillo running next to our campsite.  I’ve seen dead ones laying along the road, but I think that this was the first live one that I’ve seen.  The deer have also been keeping us busy.  They love carrots and apples.

Sink Hole Trail

 

One of the Sink Holes along the trail

 

The underground river feeding Manatee Springs has 3 main branches.  Water flowing from the farthest reaches of the spring eventually enters one of these 3 branches.  This box is on a well directly into the south conduit about 80 feet below.  Inside the box are connections to monitoring instruments placed in the conduit which allows scientists to monitor the flow and chemistry of the ground water.  The other two main branches also have wells drilled into them.

Swimming in the Spring

The water coming from the spring and going to the river

An Armadillo

The deer love carrots

Are We in Florida????

It looks like Florida, smells like Florida, but doesn't feel like Florida.  We woke up this morning and the temperature was 43 degrees.  Not what we were expecting for Florida.  However, it didn't stop us from exploring the area.  The park has a spring that produces an average of 100 million gallons of clear, 72 degree water daily. In winter, West Indian manatees swim upriver to the warmer waters of the springs.  The spring forms a sparkling stream that meanders through hardwood wetlands to the Suwannee River.   The park also has many sinkhole ponds, including one with a cave 90 feet below the ground that connects to a popular divers' destination known as the catfish hotel.  Certified and qualified cave divers are able to explore several miles of underground caverns which feed into the spring.

The stream from the spring to the Suwannee River

A bird hanging out at the spring

The manatees are not supposed to arrive till winter, but I was lucky enough to see one hanging around. 

A trail leading from the spring to the Suwannee River.  I love the Spanish Moss hanging from the trees.

The head waters of the spring

Three scuba divers getting ready to explore the caves at the bottom of this 90 foot sinkhole.  There is a layer of duck weed covering the water.

The divers have submerged.  All you can see now is their bubbles.

Many deer hang out in the park.

The deer were eating carrots right out of RoxAnne's hand

Manatee Springs

We left Alabama this morning and we are now at Manatee Springs State Park near Chiefland, Florida.  State Parks are nice, but they aren't very technology friendly.  We have no Internet, TV, or even much of a cell phone signal.  I'm sitting in my truck at a McDonalds using their WiFi.

Our campsite at Manatee Springs State Park.  You can tell that we are now in Florida.  The ground is almost entirely sand and there are palms everywhere.  State Parks also typically give you very large sites.

Cheese and Sausage

Weather was cooler and rainy today.  We went to the "Sweet Home Farm" which is a small, out of the way farm that is only open on Friday's and Saturday's.  They sell some things grown on their farm, along with homemade sauerkraut, hot sauces, home made jams and jellies.  However, their specialty is their homemade cheese.  They have been in business for over 40 years.  It all started when the couple received a cow for her wedding gift.  They started making cheese and now they offer many different varieties, many of which have won awards.  We purchase some Baldwin Swiss, Bama Jack and Tuscany cheese, along with some chocolate fudge cheese.

After leaving the farm, we went to the German Sausage Festival in Elberta, Alabama.  The festival is sponsored by the Fire Department.  The original secret recipe for Elberta's famous sausage is credited to Alfred Stucki, a resident of the town till he passed away in 1973.  They usually sell about 6,000 pounds of German Sausage each festival, and attract an estimated 20,000 visitors to each festival.  Along with the sausage, is continuous entertainment for adults and children, and over 200 arts & crafts booths.

The chicken house at the Sweet Home Farm

The cheeses at the Sweet Home Farm

People waiting in line to buy cheese

The sausage at the German Sausage Festival

The Elberta Fire Department cooking the sausage

Vendor booths at the German Sausage Festival

National Naval Aviation Museum

It was cloudy, warm and raining today, so we skipped the beach and instead went to the National Naval Aviation Museum.  They had more than 150 restored aircraft representing the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Aviation.  Everything from hot air balloons to a space capsule was in the museum.  My father was in the Navy and spent most of his time on the USS Monterey.  It was an Independence-class light aircraft carrier that was put into service during WWII and then used in training for several years thereafter.  As we entered the museum, the USS Monterey was listed on a wall plaque.  The Monterey left behind an impressive war record. Her planes sank five enemy warships, and damaged others. She was responsible for the destruction of thousands of tons of Japanese shipping, hundreds of planes, and vital industrial complexes.  Future U.S. President Gerald R. Ford served aboard the ship during World War II.  During the Korean War she operated for the under the Naval Training Command in Pensacola, training thousands of naval aviation cadets, student pilots, and helicopter trainees.

After visiting the museum, we went to 1140 East Mallory Street in Pensacola.  It was the house my mother lived in when she moved to Pensacola prior to marrying my father.

I finished the day doing 3 loads of laundry.

National Naval Aviation Museum

Fifth entry from the top is the USS Monterey

A picture of the USS Monterey

RoxAnne hanging out in a H-2 Seasprite Helicopter

Hanging out in a Blue Angel jet

House at 1420 East Mallory

Another view of the house

East Mallory Street in front of the house

The camp laundry room

Hanging out at the Beach

We went to Johnson Beach today.  It is located on the Gulf of Mexico in the Gulf Shores area. It was sunny, blue skies, no clouds and the temperature in the high 70's.  The sand at the beach is among the whitest in the world. This sand is comprised of small quartz particles.  At the end of the last Ice Age, when the ice caps began melting, large volumes of water were carried by the rivers.  This water carried the quartz particles, from the rock that formed the Appalachian Mountains, and deposited them in the Gulf of Mexico. These quartz sands eventually formed a new shoreline and eventually blew west to Pensacola.  It is this quartz, ground to perfect granular ovals, that makes the sand on the beach “squeak” between your toes when you walk on it!

There is a reef a few hundred yards off of the beach.  These scuba divers were going to explore the area.

We felt bad for this sea gull.  He is missing his left foot.  We feed him and he then he spent most of the day with us.

This fisherman had a close friend.  The heron was just waiting for him to catch a fish.

Some people having fun kayaking.

The Blue Angels

We went to see the Blue Angels practice today at the Pensacola Naval Air Station.  The Blue Angels is the Navy's flight demonstration squadron, with aviators from the Navy and Marines.  During their demonstrations they fly six McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet aircraft.  It was quite a show.  When in a tight formation, they fly 18 inches apart.  The sound of the jet engines give you goosebumps.  The show lasted about an hour.  Here are some interesting facts:

• An estimated 15 million spectators view the squadron during air shows each year.
• The highest maneuver performed in an air show is the vertical rolls, up to 15,000 feet and the lowest maneuver performed in an air show is the Sneak Pass, at 50 feet.
• The fastest speed flown during an air show is about 700 mph (just under Mach 1) and the slowest is about 120 mph.
• The basic acquisition price of a single F/A-18 Hornet is approximately $21 million.
• The F/A-18 can reach speeds just under Mach 2, almost twice the speed of sound or about 1,400 mph.
• An F/A-18 weights about 24,500 pounds empty of all ordnance and aircrew.
• The smoke is produced by pumping biodegradable, paraffin-based oil directly into the exhaust nozzles of the aircraft where the oil is instantly vaporized into smoke. It provides a traceable path for spectators to follow and enhances safety of flight by providing a means by which solo pilots can see each other during opposing maneuvers.  

Click here to see some video that we took.

Here are some pictures: