Parks – Page 12 – Wandering Dawgs

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

April 5, 2016February 24, 2018Posted in Birds, Butterflies, Georgia, National Wildlife Refuge, Nature, RVing, State Parks, WildlifeTagged Alligators, Egret, Fargo, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Okefenokee Swamp, Stephen C. Foster State Park, White Tail Deer, wild turkey22 Comments

Big gator beside the canal next to the road

On St. Patrick’s Day we left Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center in White Springs, Florida and drove about 50 miles to another park named after the famous composer. At the end of the road 17 miles from the nearest highway, Stephen C. Foster State Park in Fargo, Georgia is located in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge .

This is one of our favorite Georgia state parks and one we have returned to over and over through the years. There is just something I love about being surrounded by nature miles away from civilization.

The Okefenokee Swamp is one of North America’s most unspoiled natural wilderness areas. According to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge web page, “the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has 353,981 acres of National Wilderness Area within the refuge boundaries. In addition, the refuge is a Wetland of International Importance (RAMSAR Convention – 1971) because it is one of the world’s largest intact freshwater ecosystems.”

Indians who once lived in the area called it Okefenokee which roughly translated means “Land of Trembling Water.” The headwaters of the Suwanee River is located in the Okefenokee Swamp.

Going out in a boat is a great way to see the swamp but there is also plenty to see from land. All the photos in this post were taken as we walked around the campground, marina and on the Trembling Earth Nature Trail which starts at the marina. One section of the trail is a boardwalk through the swamp. This huge gator was sunning on a log beside the boardwalk.

The only man made waterway in the park is this canal which leads to the open water of the Okefenokee Swamp.

The canal runs beside the road and alligators are frequently seen sunning themselves on the bank or chilling in the water.

One of the other campers told me about baby alligators beside the road so off we went in search of baby gators.

Baby gator in the canal beside the road. Do you see the one in the water?

Besides alligators, many other animals make their home in the Okefenokee.

Coming up in my next post – a ranger guided boat tour into the Okefenokee.

Way Down Upon the Suwanee River

March 30, 2016January 6, 2018Posted in Florida, Historic Sites, RVing, State ParksTagged Big Shoals, Carrillon, Flowering Dogwood, geocaching, Live Oaks, Old Folks at Home, Stephen Foster, Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center, Telford Hotel, White Springs13 Comments

Way down upon de Swanee Ribber,
Far, far away,
Dere’s wha my heart is turning ebber,
Dere’s wha de old folks stay

Florida State Song, “Old Folks at Home” by Stephen Foster, 1851

Carillon at Stephen Foster Folk Cultural Center

One our favorite Florida State Parks, we have camped here numerous times through the years. Located on the banks of the Suwanee River, the park is named for American compser Stephen Foster and features a museum with exhibits about some of his most famous songs, a 97-bell carillon, a craft square with demonstrations and a gift shop, and a historic Spring House which once brought many tourists into the town of White Springs.

The Stephen Foster Museum houses many exhibits including several dioramas representing some of his most famous songs. Two of his songs have been adapted as state songs – “Old Folks at Home” is the state song of Florida, and “My Old Kentucky Home” is the state song of Kentucky. You may recognize some of his other songs such as “Oh! Susanna”, “Beautiful Dreamer” and “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair.”

According to The Center for American Music at the University of Pittsburgh, “Old Folks at Home” was written for a minstrel show and became the most popular song ever published at that time. Stephen Foster was never in Florida and never saw the Suwanee River. In his original draft of the song he used the name Pedee River but later changed it to Suwanee.

Diorama of "Old Folks at Home" — Diorama of “Old Folks at Home”

The road through the state park winds around the museum and carillon with ancient Live Oak trees covered with Spanish Moss all through the park. The campground is surrounded by pine forest with miles of hiking and biking trails. We love hearing the bells of the Carillon as it chimes on the quarter hour and plays Stephen Foster’s music throughout the day.

On the banks of the Suwanee River sits a Spring House which brought many tourists into the town of White Springs in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. An interpretive sign at the spring house calls it “Florida’s Original Tourist Destination”. The waters from the sulphur springs were thought to have healing powers and people flocked to the town of White Springs for the cure.

Florida's Original Tourist Destination — Florida’s Original Tourist Destination

Cypress Trees on the banks of the Suwanee River

Azaleas blooming in White Springs, Florida

Spring flowers were blooming all around the park and in the town of White Springs.

Flowering Dogwood in White Springs, Florida

We drove to nearby Big Shoals State Park do a little geocaching and to hike along the Suwanee River. Our destination was an overlook on a bluff high above the Suwanee River to see Florida’s only Class III White Water Rapids.

Big Shoals Trail along the Suwanee River

Henry found the geocache and when he opened the container he found this little critter inside.

Several years ago during one of our stays at the park we had a delightful lunch at the historic Telford Hotel in White Springs. In one room of the hotel were old hotel registers with signatures of some of the famous visitors to the hotel including Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft in 1913. I dug out this photo of the register I took that day and you can see their signatures are the last ones on the page.

Telford Hotel Registery from 1913 — Telford Hotel Register from 1913

Sadly, the hotel is now closed and the building for sale.

My review of Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park can be found on Campendium.

Florida’s Tallest Waterfall

March 26, 2016December 15, 2016Posted in Butterflies, Florida, Nature, RVing, State Parks, Waterfalls, WildflowersTagged Carolina Jasmine, Falliing Waters State Park, Florida's Tallest Waterfall, Honeybells, Long Leaf Pine, Nature, Plant City Strawberries, Spring, Wild Azalea, zebra swallowtail18 Comments

When I first read about Florida’s tallest waterfall at Falling Waters State Park my first thought was “I didn’t know there were ANY waterfalls in Florida!” I had to see it with my own eyes.

So off we went to Falling Waters State Park to check it out. The campground sits at 324 feet above sea level on top of one of the highest hills in Florida.

An easy trail down the hill leads to a small pond and boardwalk trails to the waterfall and around several sinkholes. We observed the 73 foot tall waterfall from a platform above the falls but construction on the platform near the bottom of the falls prevented us from seeing the water dropping into the sinkhole at the bottom.

Florida's Tallest Waterfall at Falling Waters State Park — Florida’s Tallest Waterfall at Falling Waters State Park

The trails meander through a long leaf pine forest with southern magnolias scattered among the pines. A few wildflowers blooming along the trail let us know that spring was almost here.

Boardwalk trail at Falling Waters State Park

While exploring the trails we did some more geocaching and found two in the park. We’re getting better at this!

A Zebra Swallowtail became fascinated with my shoes when we stopped to take a break along one of the trails.

We continued our quest for good local food and stopped at the Main Street Market in downtown Chipley for some Plant City strawberries. These wonderful, sweet strawberries are only available for a short while and although we had been getting them at grocery stores I had to have some more. While we were there I was thrilled to see some Florida Honeybells. These strange looking orange citrus fruits are sweet and juicy. The also have a very short season so of course I grabbed some of those, too.

Falling Waters State Park is located south of Chipley, Florida just a couple of miles from I-10.

My review of Falling Waters State Park can be found on Campendium.

Gulf Islands National Seashore

March 7, 2016July 14, 2017Posted in Birds, Florida, National Parks, RVing, Sunset, WildlifeTagged beach, Ft. Pickens, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Nature, Osprey, Pensacola Beach23 Comments

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”
–Jacques Cousteau

A beach with perfect sugar white sand only a five minute walk from our campsite. I think I am in heaven!

Gulf Islands National Seashore at Ft. Pickens

Our home for a week is Ft. Pickens Campground in Gulf Islands National Seashore on Santa Rosa Island. I’ve been doing a lot of walking on the beach and beach chair sitting.

Ready for Beach Chair Sitting on the Gulf of Mexico

We’ve taken a couple of hikes on the half-mile Blackbird Marsh Nature Trail near the campground.

It is nest building time for Ospreys and several nests can be seen in the area. Ospreys are frequently seen soaring over the campground and a few of the nests can be viewed close up from the nature trail.

And the sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico are breathtaking!

More of the Fort Pickens area coming up in my next post.

Sunsets, Geocaching, and Exploring around Eastbank Campground

March 4, 2016November 14, 2018Posted in COE Park, Georgia, RVing, Sunset, WildlifeTagged Alligator, Chattahoochee, geocaching, Jim Woodruff Dam, Lake Seminole, snowbirding18 Comments

Our latest RV journey took us past many pecan orchards in south Georgia before we arrived at our first destination, Eastbank Campground on the banks of Lake Seminole. Although located in Georgia, the closest town is Chattahoochee, Florida. From our campsite we were treated to a beautiful sunset our first night.

Sunset over Lake Seminole at Eastbank Campground

The campsites are large and many are waterfront. It was a great place to wind down from the hustle and bustle of being at home.

Foggy morning on Lake Seminole at Eastbank

We tried geocaching in nearby Chattahoochee, Florida. Our first two attempts were a bust but we enjoyed looking around the train car at the Heritage Park.

We ended the day watching another beautiful sunset.

Another beautiful sunset over Lake Seminole

Our second geocaching excursion took us to part of the Chattachoochee Nature Trail along the Apalachicola River.

No amount of looking over, under, and around the boardwalk helped us find the geocache but I found something better. A baby alligator was sunning himself beside the boardwalk.

Palmettos beside the boardwalk on the nature trail

We were determined to find the geocache at the train car so we returned there and Henry found it!

Later we drove to the Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam to take a look. The dam and locks were constructed for navigation, hydro- power and recreation purposes on the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint River systems.