Olena day 2

We found someone that could provide us with a shuttle so we did a paddle on the Santa Fe river. We only did 6 miles. The river had a good flow but we were going into a strong headwind so it took awhile. After we got back we did a hike to the spot where the river goes underground. There is a circular pool that the water is circulating over in a slow counterclockwise  rotation. That pool is 140 feet deep. Insane cave divers have explored the drain hole and the cave system that runs 3 miles underground. The river is robust and fast flowing and then it just stops. Tomorrow we are going to try and find the spot where it returns to the service.

Olena State Park Florida

This is a CCC park built in the 30's. The nearest town is High Springs. The park protects an unusual stretch of the Santa Fe river. This is a big river. It goes underground for 3 miles and when it resurfaces it's bigger than it was when it went underground. We can hike to where it disappears. We will try to do that while we are here. The place where it resurfaces is called River Rise preserve. We will paddle a stretch of the river tomorrow. Hopefully we won't get sucked under.

Alafia (rainy) day 5

Most of our day was spent in the MP watching the rain. There was a short break and I was able to get out for a brief ride. Here's one thing I didn't mention yesterday. Along one of the trails I have ridden a couple of times are a couple of trees that had yellow fruit about the size and color of tennis balls. I was intrigued so I stopped and brought 3 of them back. We did some research based on their shape, size and color and determined that they were some weird fruit from a plant that is a native of Africa. I was curious about the taste. They were supposedly edible. Turns out the damn things were grapefruit. The skin was real thick and there were tons of seeds but the taste was unmistakable. They are maybe a native variety. Certainly something you would never see for sale at Whole Foods. We start our drive back north tomorrow. 

Alafia day 4

Jenny got out on a few trails today. The trails are rated kind of like a ski area. A green circle is easy, a blue square is intermediate, a black diamond is difficult and a double black diamond is for mountain goats. I determined right away that black diamonds are not what I came here to do. I have ridden all the trails that aren't black at least twice. We still have one full day here but thunderstorms are in tomorrow's forecast so we might not get on the water. More tomorrow  

Alafia day 3

Jenny and I split up today. I hit the trails again and she headed into town because we needed a few groceries. We haven't seen too much wildlife. I saw a tortoise today. Yesterday we saw an armadillo and this evening we saw some "whoops" deer. Our afternoon was spent buying a new 24" bike for Austin. His birthday is next month and he has outgrown his 20" bike. Jenny took it for a spin.

Alafia day 2

The weather has been off and on wet since we got set up yesterday. We looked at the radar this morning and it looked like it might hold off for awhile so I went out on my bike. It's been quite some time since I have ridden any technical trails. There is a certain amount of focus that is required that I had forgotten to turn on. The results were ugly. The best lessons are learned the hard way. It rained on me during the ride so I was a ratty mess when I returned to the MP. We are looking for a way to get our boats wet. The one company that does shuttles isn't, due to Covid. We might have to do an out an d back. We found a bridge with a launch ramp that looked like a place we could do that on our own. Of course I'd be on my paddleboard. It has temporarily stopped raining so we are trying to get my clothes dry. More tomorrow. 

Alafia River State Park

This is as far south as we are going to go this trip. We are near Lithia Florida which is kinda, maybe,  a suburb of Tampa. This park was built on the property of an old phosphate quarry. It is considered one of the few "Epic" destinations for mountain bikers in the southeast. That's why we're here. However,  there are other things to see and do. The Alafia river flows through the area and it can be paddled. From what we have read, there is a robust population of alligators in the river. I'm thinking paddle boarding might not be a good idea. There is an outfitter than rents canoes (see pic) We might do that. Another attraction here is Lithia Springs (see pic). I think I read somewhere than 35 million gallons enter the pool every day. There are Lithiam salts in the spring water. Hence the name Lithia. This campground is really nice. There are two small loops and all the sites have a lot of privacy.