Florida -- Wakulla River

The Wakulla is * clearly * a spring-fed river. Clear, blue, and beautiful! Peggy said it’s one of her favorite places to paddle, so I figured it would be a winner. We went first to the state park at the spring. There is a swimming area and a platform that looks down into the spring. Talk about blue!

They say it goes 300 feet down into an elaborate aquatic cave. Private boats aren’t allowed in this part of the river “a good thing”, one guide book says, “because the place is overrun with alligators.”


Dale and Tyler took put me in the river a few miles down under the HW 365 bridge, then they headed 4 miles farther down to HW 98 to meet me an hour and a half later.

The current is light and I found the water to be amazingly clear. I talked to one man in a canoe and he said its browner/greener than he’s ever seen it – on past trips it was clear as drinking water. Well nonetheless, I was impressed. It sure wasn’t Mississippi water. I could see the bottom at 10 feet; beyond that it was a little hard to tell if it was vegetation, rocks, or manatees on the bottom.

I spent the first half mile wondering if I would be able to tell a manatee if there was one below me. A mile later I spotted two on the right side of the river, and they were unmistakable in shape and size. I think I saw them on a trip to Florida when I was 11. Don’t remember seeing them when I lived in Ft Walton Beach in ‘89-‘91. I wouldn’t have guessed they would be so unconcerned about my presence. I stayed close to 10 minutes and drifted pretty close to them. Here they are munching side by side. Is that cool or what?

I remembered to take a video with the digital camera, and got a nice 25 second shot of them sticking their noses up to breathe, moving around a bit, and as a rare additional treat, emitting a stream of bubbles from the opposite end. Boy was Tyler impressed when I showed him a video of a manatee fart! :- )

There are quite a few private docks on the river. I bet that land costs a bundle.

The turtles were bold; they must get tired of plopping in the water every time someone goes by. I saw a few birds but not as many as I thought I would. Either Peggy’s really good at spotting them, or they were just elsewhere that day. There were a lot of fish, and I’d say other than the manatees, the gar were the most impressive creatures. The gar were huge, 3 or 4 or even 5 feet long, cruising around the river in all different directions like cops on patrol. I could have got a picture of one if I tried hard enough, but there was so much else to look at. I found myself wondering if I would see more above the water if I wasn’t so intent on looking IN the water.

We headed straight home from there and it took 5 ½ hours. Good chance we’ll go back some day. I’m interested in seeing the lower part of the river when it gets into the tidal area. Overall it was a really great place to paddle. North Florida has a lot to offer and provided for a great family trip.

Florida -- Merritt’s Mill Pond

Spring break trip mission: camping, fishing, and kayaking. Inspired by Peggy of paddletales we headed to Florida around Tallahassee for a few days, April 11-13th. We took the dog, Jazz, which limited our options somewhat but was fun. She’s a good boat dog and did fine in the john-boat. For the road trip, the kayak rode on top of the john-boat which we pulled on a trailer, and the dog rode in the Truck backseat with Tyler. We had the tent and all that ready and loaded in the truck, but we were trying to do a lot already so we kept it simple and rented one of the cabins at Merritt’s Mill Pond Arrowhead Campground. That turned out to be a winner because the highlight of the trip for Tyler was renting the paddleboats, particularly the barracuda which is like a jet ski and has a prop instead of a paddle wheel.

I did a kayak venture about halfway up the pond on Tuesday afternoon. Got to the power lines and just a bit beyond. There’s a strange humming in the woods just north of the power lines. Don’t know what that could be. Other than that it’s a quiet, peaceful place. A lot of houses and docks, but still mostly natural surroundings.


Very blue, clear water! There’s a lot of grass and algae and that covers half the bottom. It’s strange, makes you feel like you’re on a magic carpet floating 12 feet high, looking down on bushes, grass, and trees. Turtles and fish are easy to spot swimming around. Some of the plants make it hard to paddle through. Once my paddle snagged and I almost had to drop the paddle or flip the boat, but at the last second it let go. I didn’t have a lot of time before sunset so I headed back.


Wednesday we took the boat up to the top of the lake. The recreation area was closed, but we found one of the large springs (THE large spring?) on the west side under a rocky cliff. I was fascinated with the water coming up out of the spring and how it made kaleidoscope patterns with the rocks. Dang it -- my camera batteries died just before we got to it. New mission! I knew I had to make it back in the kayak later in the day. So a little while later I set off from the campground again, went all the way to the top of the pond, and visited the spring again. Got some good pictures this time.


It was a long trip back since I haven’t done any long trips lately, but felt great. The general conditioning I’ve done lately, jogging, spinning, biking, walking, seems to make a difference in stamina even though I haven’t been paddling much. Well, now’s the season, so I intend to paddle a lot if I can figure out the transportation challenges.

The pond was a beautiful place to camp and kayak.

March and spring is here

New discoveries in the bayou. Mom and I went all the way up to the causeway through the third bayou from the bay. Saw 4 gators along the way and named 2: Ferdinand and Sparky. Sparky lay on the bank with us not 12 feet from him (what were we thinking?) but eventually slid into the water. The red-winged blackbirds are singing, the egrets and herons are flying and fishing, and the fish are jumping. Most of the bayou still looks brown but the green grass is pushing up through the brown grass from last year. The weather is nice and it feels like another kayak season!

December paddle

This paddle was a couple of weeks ago on Dec 18th. Mom and I went up north of the bay, up behind some of the houses on the north bayou. She is in Beriniki, the Pamlico 145T. I'm in the Millenium 160. She took a photo of me on this trip and I've added it to my profile. We saw this heron along the way. I have a new camera with much more zoom power, but not sure when I'll get the nerve to take it out on the water.


I edited these photos with Microsoft Digital Image 2006. Downloaded a trial copy, but I think I will end up buying it as I do like it quite a bit. The reviews on photo imaging software are deceiving, because I think to the average user, ease of use far outweighs the ultra-technical capabilities available.

Late fall stroll on the water

Even on a mild November day there is plenty to see. The best thing about today was I was in no hurry, I had no plan, I had no objective other than to enjoy some kayak time. My GPS shut off due to low batteries, but I went the same basic track out towards the gulf that I have done many times. The tide was very low. I bet there have been times when the whole bay emptied out completely. It was only a foot and a half to two feet deep all the way across. The herons and egrets were prevalant as usual but there were quite a few more ducks. Some of them seemed very small. I noticed how they start flying and have to get a running start with their feet slapping the water. The cormorants do this too, especially if they haven't had time to dry out their wings after swimming.

A group of 3 little raccoons was wandering around in the mud digging up snacks...

I'm a little out of paddling shape, but I really didn't have trouble with the trip all the way to the gulf and back. I passed about a dozen boats with people out fishing. Over by the boat dock, the first house on that street was in the process of being razed from hurricane damage. It still seems very quiet on the north side of the bay, where all the houses are gone and no one is there on the empty lots. One thing to be aware of now, the water is colder, and wouldn't be any fun to capsize. I suppose if I went where the water is very cold, I would need to be more prepared!

Recommended book: Across the Savage Sea by Maud Fontenoy.

Fort Bayou

Here's a trip I've been meaning to do for a while and finally got the chance. Did it today while the boat traffic is still almost nil and the weather is great. Not too exciting of a trip, but a good one to do. The tide helped me out but it was 9.3 miles. The best thing about this trip: now when I drive over the bridge and look down at the water and think, "I'd really rather be there than on my way to work," at least I can think of when I was out there in that very spot!

The tidal current was noticeable coming out of Bayou Talla. I realized that so far my kayaking is mostly focused on the world above, with the water as simply a transportation medium. The interaction with the water, while it varies in it's character depending on the location, is fairly predictable. I suppose that with whitewater kayaking the water in itself is an interaction, requiring attention and providing an adventure in addition to the above-the-surface world. So, then... does this double the experience... or split it in half?

One bit of excitement on this trip -- a mullet took a big jump towards me and almost landed in my lap. I was wondering how long it would be before one took a flying leap right at me. Man those things can jump. Wheee!

Water welcome

Here is a picture from this morning that shows how the water just came and took the houses away. Pilings, slabs, and shells of houses are all that remain along the water's edge.

On a rare day off today I had a chance to enjoy the water for a nice route around the bay and bayou. The temperature is so nice now. It's not crisp or cool yet, but the heat of summer seems to be gone. The trees are confused; they lost all their leaves during the hurricane and have grown new spring-like green leaves, yet others are brown and burnt looking still. The water seemed soft. That was my first thought. When the kayak glides through the water so easily and the paddle feels like it's pulling you through a cloud, it feels soft and inviting.

I went first up into the north side and saw some more of the houses that are gone and destroyed. Then across the bay and down the bayou. One boat was out in the bay and I believe it was the crab-pot man putting his crab-pots out.

The water was nice and I did not see debris except for over by the boat ramp. There were LOTS of fish and birds -- caught a fish jump on camera! OK, a fish splash.

The bayou in the middle is the nicest part - very natural and secluded. I'm sure the gators love this area but I have not seen any since the storm. There was a picture in the Mississippi Power newsletter of power crews working along the causeway. "A sheriff's deputy watches for alligators in Graveline Bay as crew members prepare to raise a Singing River EPA line flattened by Katrina." Guess they know how much the gators love this area. I wonder if the gators survived the storm?


Herons, egrets, rails... many kinds and many birds. I know the snowy ergets and the American egrets now. Snowy egrets have black beaks and yellow feet. American egrets have orange/yellow beaks and black feet. What a nice arrangement. Funny what an ugly voice they have, as pretty as they are to look at. Croak, croak, crooooooaaak.

I'll go out again this weekend, to look around with Mom and see that the bayou part of home has not changed and is taking care of itself.