I stopped of at Rainbow Springs on my way to Pensacola where I'm to meet someone on Monday. Last night was the first night I actually tried sleeping in the truck. Of course we had to have some pretty steady rain throughout the night. I made out pretty well. I have to make some sort of cover to keep the mosquitoes out though.
The Rainbow Springs State Park Campgrounds are some distance from the springs. It is right on the Rainbow River and I set out this morning to paddle the mile or two upriver to the springs. Heavy, black clouds dominated the skies as I turned north. The forecast is for something like 80% chance of rain today.
Mostly upscale houses and docks line the western or far shore. I can't believe they are jammed between the river and an active railroad. A train passed by and let loose with a ten second blast. I could see the train passing in the background. I don't understand how anyone could live like that.
Shortly after starting out I passed over top of a small spring or at least a big hole. Divers, some snorkeling and some with scuba gear cluttered up the river as they dove beneath their buoy markers. They like to get down there where the water escapes from the bottom, watch fish, etc.
Soon I was passing over one small spring after another. The water over the springs seemed to be a light bluish green. The bottom in most places seemed to be a continuous sheet of fractured limestone. These have cracked and splintered, probably from spring activity. Everything looked like a big concrete pavement with grass growing out of the cracks.
Anhinga, a cousin of the cormorant, were the most abundant. A few ducks, a couple of egrets and one or two blue herons made up the extent of the aerial show while turtles and a few fish held up the marine end of things. Marsh grass and live oaks with a little Spanish moss provided the decoration along side the 50-75 foot river.
The skies alternated between bright sunshine and stormy black clouds as I neared Rainbow Springs. They had the springs roped off so I had to dock and get out and walk. When I got up to them they looked exactly like a big swimming pool. Really disappointing.
More divers made navigating through them an obstacle course. Some didn't have wet suits. Both the wind and the water were too cold for me to be dressed like that. I'd passed a few canoes on the way back but then ran into a bazillion of them. That chased me right off the river and I didn't bother to do the couple of miles of lower section.