Wakulla, Sinkholes, Springs and Bull Gators

My sister Katy has always been the primary tour guide for our family, and I have loved that because it gave me plenty of time for having fun any way I could. It is also true that Katy does a great job of organizing our sometimes chaotic and always diverse family group.
“Hi! I’m Dianne, Katy’s not so organized sister”
Katy had a little stomach upset for this phase of our family trip, so I will do my best to cover it. Just know the perspective has changed. We are now in my favorite part of the world, the Ocala National Forest in Wakulla County where the wildlife is abundant and Florida is at it’s best. We stayed at the old Lodge on the Wakulla River, built by Ed Ball, the inventor of canning jars, and what a nostalgic walk into Florida and the Harrell family past. This is old Florida swamp land complete with all the Tarzan movie sounds and sights. An end of day hike through these grounds could end with the trembling growl of a bull gator if you aren’t paying attention.

This is the only section of river in the state that is closed off to boat traffic. Consequently the gators, exotic birds and plants thrive here. The Lodge also runs a fleet of boats in this part of the river, so the public can enjoy and fool themselves into believing they are safe. It is designated a state park and is pretty much unspoiled. The grounds are also home to one of the most productive springs in the world, Wakulla Springs. The origin of this spring has never been found so, as you can imagine, it is a favorite destination for cave divers around the world.

This was the highlight of the trip for me and I sometimes think the mystery of life is found most clearly here in these sparkling waters.
We went swimming in the clear river water (the swimming area is clearly marked by ropes so the gators and moccasins will know not to come where we are!). Some of us dove from the 30 foot tower built long ago over the spring. We could have had a problem when the teens took our three yr old niece to the top of the dive tower, and forgot she was with them. They all jumped into the spring, and surfaced to see little Kellan, arms spread, leaping and screaming “YOLO!”… her favorite cartoon quote on the trip -meaning you only live once. She descended the thirty foot drop into Wakula Spring with nothing but plastic water wings built into her bathing suit to keep her alive. She bounced right up laughing and yelling “YOLO”.

We ate in the elegant dining room our mother loved, and explored once again a part of Florida where nothing much had changed. The memories were flooding us all.

While most of us were staying at our beloved Lodge at night, we all converged on Bessie and Jessie for a good ole’ Florida cracker fish dinner and gathering one late afternoon, and it was goooooood! Three huge, whole, broiled grouper, seasoned to perfection…caught just that day by Uncle Roy with all the trimmings!

The story is a gator came out of the river after our grand niece and nephew in July. The kids were jumping off a dock into the river then running out of the water and doing it again & again, when a big gator came out of the river, onto the dock between the children and their Dad until, luckily, a neighbor came out and shot the aggressive gator. When we went to their home for dinner, the kids were back into their swimming ritual on this same dock on the river. There’s absolutely no accounting for our family’s whatever you want to call it…courage or foolhardiness.

This segment would not be complete without mentioning that BC and Roy have recently bought sixteen acres in Wakulla County around their own spring, and it is beautiful. They plan to build a home there. We all went out to welcome the property into the family on the West Coast of Florida. I understand that it is connected by underground tunnels to the Wakulla Springs!

And so the summer family story goes on and on, and I will stop ‘cause Katy and I are both now at home on our respective sides of the continent planning for next summer’s road trip! And besides, this is my sister’s blog.
—Dianne Moore 8/27/17

Stay tuned for the Outer Banks, Frozen Cappuccino addiction, and back home.