The calendar said February but the flowers said spring!
As we wandered along the trails of Silver Springs State Park and O’Leno State park in north Florida this February, wildflowers added a pop of color to the lush green forest around us.
Wild Azaleas at O’Leno State Park, FLCarolina Jasmine along the swamp trail in Silver Springs State ParkPickerel Weed in the Silver RiverWild Dogwood blooms in O’Leno State ParkCan you identify this Florida Wildflower seen near the Ichetucknee River?The Wild Dogwoods were in full bloom at O’Leno State Park
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
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 ParkCarolina JessimineWild Azalea
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.
Zebra Swallowtail
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.
Florida Honeybells
Falling Waters State Park is located south of Chipley, Florida just a couple of miles from I-10.
Our first stop on our spring road trip was in Appling, Georgia at one of the Corps of Engineers Campgrounds on the shore of J Strom Thurmond Lake. For three nights we enjoyed the peace and tranquility of our lake front campsite.
Looking at Winfield Campground Site 10 from the lake
View of J Strom Thurmond Lake from Site 10 at Winfield Campground
The lake was just a few steps from our campsite
When it is springtime in Georgia the Wild Dogwoods and Carolina Jasmine add splashes of white and yellow throughout the woods.
Wild Dogwoods
Wild Dogwood
Carolina Jasmine drapes many of the trees
Wild dogwoods bloomed all through the woods
A small Wild Dogwood
Carolina Jasmine was in full bloom
We took a short drive to Harlem, Georgia to visit the birthplace of Oliver Hardy. He was born there in 1892 and moved to Milledgeville, Georgia with his mother after his father died. He attended the Military College of Georgia there and the University of Georgia for a short time. There are images of him all through town and in October the whole town celebrates with a Laurel and Hardy Festival.
Oliver Norvell Hardy was born in Harlem, Georgia in 1892
Even the water tower in Harlem honors Oliver Hardy
Laurel and Hardy Museum at Harlem, Georgia
One of the many displays in the museum
Mural of Laural and Hardy in Harlem, Georgia
Mural of Laural and Hardy in Harlem, Georgia
On Saturday we took a drive to Modoc, South Carolina to meet with friends Bill and Carol who are work campers there. We had a great time catching up with them and making some new RV friends.