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