CAMELLIA
The
challenge: Plan a one week vacation,
knowing that either the first weekend will be spent in Orlando, New Orleans, or
Montgomery, Alabama; or that the last day and night will be in Mobile, Alabama. One of these situations is a certainty, but
you won’t know which until less than 2 weeks before the trip begins. Go!
That
was my dilemma in early December. We
knew that Appalachian State would be playing in a bowl game. In all likelihood it would be in Orlando, New
Orleans, or Montgomery on 12/17/16. The
other possibility was the night of 12/23/16 in Mobile.
Prior
to the announcement, rumors were pointing towards Orlando. This suited us, as we were eager to do some
kayaking in south Florida. We decided to
plan our trip in that direction. A bowl
game in Orlando would be extremely convenient.
If we ended up in one of the other cities, we would find a way to make
it work.
On
the afternoon of December 4th we found out that we were heading back
to Montgomery. App State had won the Camellia
bowl there the previous year, becoming the first school to win a bowl game in
their first year of bowl eligibility.
Christy and I had our enjoyed our trip the previous year, and we were
happy to go back. Driving from Charlotte
to south Florida by way of Montgomery is definitely the scenic route, but we
would make the best of it.
The
previous year we had played the University of Ohio. We won a thriller, kicking the game winning
field goal on the last play. This year’s
game would be against Toledo. Toledo had
a strong team, and we were actually slight underdogs. I was just looking
forward to a competitive game. We’d been
to all 6 home games in Boone, and every one of them had been a blowout.
I
had already booked a hotel in downtown Montgomery (and one in Orlando and
Mobile, which we cancelled). After
running some errands Friday morning, we loaded the kayaks on top of the Element
and headed for Alabama. We left fairly
early on Friday in an attempt to avoid traffic.
That failed, as we still hit several traffic jams in Atlanta and passed
through Auburn, Alabama and Montgomery at rush hour. My goal had been to arrive in Montgomery in
plenty of time to check in before the pep rally that afternoon. That didn’t happen, but we still had hopes of
making it there in time for the Christmas parade. Arriving in time for the parade was nearly
thwarted by the parade. Many of the
roads downtown were closed to traffic, and we had a hell of a time getting to
our hotel. Despite that inconvenience, we still made it. It turns out that we didn’t really need to
worry. That parade was looooong. It went on
for at least an hour. The highlights
were the performances by our band and Toledo’s band. By the time our band passed by we were ready
for dinner. We ate at The Local, a wonderful
restaurant we had dined at the previous year.
Afterwards we hit the Railyard Brewery and the Aviator – App State’s
official bar for the weekend. The
previous year The Aviator had run out of beer.
This year they were better prepared for our fans. We had a few drinks there and did some
socializing before heading back to the hotel.
The
next morning we hit the free breakfast buffet and then went for a walk around
Montgomery. It was a quiet Saturday
morning, and we took our own little tour of some of the city’s historic
sites. This included the State Capitol,
the church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had preached, and the Civil Rights
Memorial Center (https://www.splcenter.org/civil-rights-memorial). The Civil Rights Memorial is a powerful
place. If you are ever in Montgomery,
make a visit there a priority. It is a
powerful place. Christy and I were both
emotional leaving there. The plan had
been to head over to the stadium to start tailgating, but we couldn’t do it
right away. Instead we extended our walk
around town.
Around
noon we headed up to the stadium to tailgate.
We got a lot of attention pulling into the lot with two kayaks on the
roof of the car. We met up with some
friends and made some new ones. A bit
later our friend Tim and his daughter Maggie arrived. Unfortunately his wife, Carly, had gotten
sick the previous night and wasn’t able to make it.
We
had a good time tailgating before heading into the game. Our seats were fantastic – right on the
50-yard line. The game was another
thriller. This time, we kicked a field
goal with four minutes left to take a 3-point lead. Toledo drove inside our 10-yard line, but we
managed to stop them there. They tried a
field goal to tie the game, but missed. Two
first downs enabled us to run out the clock, and we had our second Camellia
Bowl victory in as many years. We’d
enjoyed a long afternoon of tailgating, so we kept our celebrating to a
minimum. We had a long drive and a
couple of short hikes on Sunday’s agenda.
SINKS AND FALLS
We
headed south on Sunday morning, passing through Enterprise, Alabama and into
Florida’s panhandle. First up was a
visit to Falling Water State Park. This
park features a short trail to 73’ Falling Water Falls, the tallest waterfall
in Florida. The creek falls into a
sinkhole, which accounts for most of the drop.
It’s a cool sight, though not particularly photogenic. I took some photos anyway, despite some light
rain. We would’ve extended our hike to
include a trail that passes a number of other sinkholes, but that trail was
closed during our visit.
We
had lunch at the park before heading east on I-10. We had a choice for the afternoon – visit
Florida Caverns State Park or do a short hike in the Leon Sinks Geological Area
south of Tallahassee. Originally the
weather forecast looked hostile, and I was leaning towards the caverns. However, the forecast improved, so we decided
to do the hike. Of course it was raining
when we got to the trailhead, but it passed quickly.
We
finished off our martinis (they are specifically prohibited on this trail) and
headed into the woods. There are two
hikes here – a 3 mile loop and a 4 1/2 mile loop. The longer hike includes a long section of
swamp. Our time was limited, so we
intended to do the shorter loop. We
hiked it counter-clockwise, for no particular reason. Early on we passed a number of dry sinkholes,
which were not particularly inspiring.
The sinkholes with water were much more interesting. The first notable one, Hammock Sink, is a
beauty. There is a boardwalk leading to
an overlook here, which provides excellent views. The water is a brilliant blue, and the
entrance to the cave is visible through the water. Cave divers have mapped 28 miles of passage
from here, connecting with Wakulla Springs.
The
other really interesting sinkhole was Big Dismal Sink. A side trail leads to an overlook, which is
high above the dark surface of the sinkhole.
The pool is surrounded by steep terrain covered with jungle-like
vegetation. Unfortunately the paths
leading down to the water are closed.
We
passed many other sinkholes. The other
interesting feature was a cave called the Gopher Hole. I walked into the cave a short distance, but
I couldn’t go far. The ceiling drops
dramatically, and the cave is flooded.
From
there we drove to Ocala and Silver Springs State Park. Instead of going out of our way to take the
freeway, we took back roads. This was
more direct and more interesting, even though most of the drive was in the
dark. On the way to Wakulla Springs we
passed a couple of highway signs that identified caves directly beneath
us. At one point we stopped for
groceries for the rest of the trip. We
had dinner at an Indian Restaurant before heading to the State Park, where we
had a campsite reserved. It had been a
long day, so we pitched the tent and went straight to bed.
MONKEY HAUNT
I
got up early the next morning and cooked breakfast. Originally we had planned to kayak all of the
Silver River, from Silver Springs to Ray Wayside Park on the Ocklawaha River. However, we had time constraints, as we
needed to get to the Everglades National Park Visitor’s Center in Everglades
City before 4:30 to pick up a backcountry camping permit. We would be starting our 4-day kayaking trip
the following morning, and were hoping for an early start. Also, Christy wasn’t feeling well. She was weak and nauseous, which was
worrisome. We decided to do a shorter
version of the Silver River trip, making a loop from the canoe launch near
Silver Springs. We would paddle down the
Fort King waterway, explore some of the river, and then paddle back upstream to
Silver Springs.
The
state park rents kayaks. In the interest
of saving time and energy, we decided to rent a kayak rather than unloading our
kayaks for a short trip. Christy was
very weak, and I was concerned about her ability to help me get the kayaks off
and back onto the car. That process
takes time, too. By renting, we would be
able to spend more time on the water. We
rented a tandem kayak for 2 hours for $27.
Renting also meant that we didn’t have to pay the private boat launch
fee, so the net cost was only $19.
Silver
Springs was a private enterprise until a few years ago. In its heyday, it was a major tourist
attraction. It was acquired by the Florida
State Park service a few years ago. The
park still features some of the tourist attractions, like glass-bottom boat
tours of the springs and the upper portion of the river.
The
Silver River is also marginally famous for its monkeys. They were originally brought to an island in
the Silver River to attract tourists.
Predictably, the monkeys decided to do their own thing. Many escaped, and despite efforts to round
them up, they have spread throughout the region. In early 2016 the population was estimated at
around 200. We were hoping to see
monkeys, but only from a distance.
Allegedly, many of them have Herpes.
So if you ever encounter one, don’t kiss it on the mouth.
The
paddle down the Fort King Waterway was quiet and scenic. We passed a number of abandoned buildings
that were part of the old tourist attraction.
The wildlife was fantastic along here and along the Silver River
itself. Highlights included turtles,
alligators, and an impressive variety of birds, including egrets, herons, and anhingas.
When
we reached the Silver River we went downstream a short distance. We didn’t go far though, since we knew we
would have to paddle back upstream.
Christy was exhausted, so the shorter trip in a tandem kayak had been a
good choice. Aside from the wildlife,
the river featured numerous lovely blue springs visible through the water
below.
We
took a tour of the actual Silver Springs at the end of the trip. There was a huge alligator at the spring, along
with schools of fish. After a couple of
quick laps around the spring we headed for the takeout. We were almost at the ramp when a medium
sized animal ran away from us, into the jungle.
I only caught a glimpse of it, but Christy thought it had been a
monkey. The guy at the rental counter
suggested that it may have been an otter, as the monkeys are seen only
infrequently near the springs.
We
drove south from there, passing Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Myers, and Naples. We arrived at the National Park Visitor
Center right at 4pm, a full 30 minutes before they closed. I went in and chatted briefly with a younger,
friendly ranger before asking about a permit.
That’s when an older, less friendly ranger informed me that they stopped
writing permits at 4. It was 4:02. I had walked in at 4, but had killed 2
minutes making small talk. I was pretty
pissed off, as we had planned our entire day around getting there in time to
get a permit. I pointed out they should
mention that time constraint on their website.
The older ranger had no response and walked into the office in the back.
As
soon as he was gone the younger ranger asked me if we knew where we wanted to
go. I had it all planned out, so he
quietly started writing out the permit while his supervisor wasn’t looking. Our plan was to kayak the Turner River, Hurddles Creek, a section of the Wilderness Waterway, the
Chatham River, and a choice portion of the Ten Thousand Islands over 4
days. Our first choice for Tuesday
night, the Crooked Creek chickee (platform) was
booked, so we switched to the Lopez River campsite. Our final two nights would be on Mormon Key
and Rabbit Key – islands with beach campsites.
We
thanked the younger ranger profusely and walked out with our permit. Before leaving, we stopped in the store to
get a nautical chart (laminated map with water depths at low tide noted) and a
5 gallon hard-sided water container. The
biggest challenge for our trip was probably going to be bringing enough
water. The park recommends at least a
gallon per person, per day. This turned
out to be a bit more than we actually needed, but it was good to have extra,
since there is no fresh water available.
Hard-sided containers are necessary because racoons are notorious for
chewing holes into milk jugs and other soft containers to get to it. It turns out that the 5 gallon container we
bought doesn’t quite fit into either of our kayaks. I was a bit worried about this when we bought
it, but there was no way to check without getting my kayak down off of the car
right there in the parking lot. We ended
up strapping the container to the top of my kayak empty. Our plan was to fill it from plastic jugs at
night, before going to bed. We’d then
have to refill the jugs in the morning before we set out.
Christy
had spent the entire afternoon sleeping in the car. We drove to our campsite at Burns Lake, in
Big Cypress National Preserve. She took
another nap in our tent while I attempted to organize our gear. By early evening the bugs were awful, and
sorting through a carload of gear for a 4 day trip for 2 people had evolved
from frustrating to overwhelming. How
would we pull this off? I’d hoped that
Christy would feel better after getting some rest, but I was beginning to have
doubts. Our trip was fairly ambitious,
and we needed an early start the next morning.
That was important for two reasons.
First, I wasn’t interested in kayaking through an alligator-infested
swamp in the dark. Also, high tide was
fairly early the next morning. Starting
with the outgoing tide would make the first day easier and faster.
The
question was, could we pull it off? I
was struggling to get everything together, and I was running out of gas. Christy was still wiped out. What if she wasn’t feeling better in the
morning? Not only did we need an early
start, but we had some logistical challenges to deal with. We were starting our trip where the Tamiami Trail (road) crosses the Turner River, but planned
to finish at the Park Visitor Center in Everglades City. That meant catching a shuttle from Everglades
City to the Turner River early in the morning.
We would have to have everything packed before we caught the shuttle,
too.
Christy
finally emerged from the tent. I cooked
dinner, and she was able to eat a little.
We discussed our plans, and decided that it was just too much. It was a shame, considering everything we’d
gone through getting our permit. After
all of that, we wouldn’t be able to use it.
We
settled on plan B. Christy would take a
recovery day on Tuesday while I kayaked the Turner River solo. She would drop me off at the put in, and pick
me up late that afternoon at the Visitor Center. While I was kayaking, she would stop at the
office and get our permit changed (or obtain a new one, if changes weren’t
allowed). Afterwards, she planned to hit
the beach at Marco Island and rest.
Hopefully she would be ready for an easier trip starting on
Wednesday.
Continue reading about our trip as I kayak the Turner River
Back to Florida
Back to CanoeingTrip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!