Wildlife abounds
For our lodging while we stayed in the Apalachicola area, Beth had arranged for us to stay at the
lovely lodge at Wakulla Springs State Park. The expense of this luxury
was in stark contrast with my usual strategy when on a
plant adventure, but I will admit that the lodge was absolutely wonderful. A historic building, the lodge was
finished in 1937, and each room is fitted with antique furniture. The food is excellent, too.
Wakulla Springs is spectacular. On average, about 1 billion liters of water emerge from the spring every
day. Historically, the water was crystal clear, but the degraded hydrology of the area has resulted in the water
clouding somewhat. Even so, the water still has a visibility of about 30 meters.
Bones of Pleistocene mammals have been pulled from the spring, including American
mastodon, saber-toothed tiger, and short-faced bear.
Wakulla Springs is also famous for the films made there, including Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), and Creature
from the Black Lagoon (1954).
Every morning, before heading into the field,
we would start the day by taking a boat tour on the river. The rangers were, in general, quite
knowledgeable about the abundant wildlife, and the views were spectacular. Beth was pleased, and took hundreds of
photographs every trip.
We did some snorkeling in the swimming area---yes, alligators were common in the springs, but lifeguards were on hand to
shush away any that might become too inquisitive about all the splashing. I am
not joking.
During one morning tour, we even had very close views of four manatees---one of which was a calf (see photo, above).
