Florida, being rather flat (though there are some pleasant, rolling mini hills), does not have raging rivers, or, usually, waterfalls. So here I was, excited to see the promised waterfalls at the headsprings. It turns out they are man-made. The pumps that raise the water from the springs are turned off at night.

From the park’s website:

In the 1930s the spring was developed as a tourist attraction. Sea walls, a lodge, gift shop, the waterfalls, and a reptile exhibit were developed…. Under new ownership, the real heyday for the attraction occurred in the 1960s. During that time, activity greatly increased with glass-bottomed boat rides, riverboat rides, a log raft ride, a gift shop and cafe, an aviary, a leaf-shaped gondola/ monorail system, a rodeo, and submarine boat tours. When I-75 was built however, traffic was diverted away from this area and tourists began heading to a new attraction called Disney World.

About the only thing that interests me in that list is the submarine boat tours, and thankfully much of the rides are now gone (you can still rent canoes and such). However, I still think it works out better if you show up with the expectation that you are going to a park rather than a wilderness. That will also brace you for the crowds. It actually reminded me quite a bit of the Japanese Gardens in Manito Park, with the paved pathways and conveniently located benches, minus the air of quiet contemplation.

There’s a swimming area, which was my main reason for wanting to visit, but by 10am on Sunday it was starting to fill with screaming teenagers, splashing around with their floaty noodle things. The roped off area was pretty small, anyway.

So more picture taking was done instead. Water is bubbling up through the sand from the two cleared away spots under this sunfish:

Springs is very much plural here. This is a different spot than the picture above:

This delightful fiber optic starburst like flower is mimosa strigillosa:

We saw several turtles. I’m still working on identifying them.

We have cardinals and blue jays in our neighborhood as well, but they flit around so much, it’s hard to get pictures of them. These at the park are the best I’ve gotten so far.

And finally, if you were wondering, McDonalds has not improved the quality of their food while you were abstaining from their food-product offerings.