Fwoggies and Lizards and Turtles! Oh MY! Exploring Florida’s Natural Springs
January 28, 2013 
9 Comments
Hi there! I’m back!
I just went on a trip to Gilcrest County, Florida, just west of Gainesville.
We visited many of Florida’s natural springs and I even got to swim with manatees!
IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just telling you isn’t enough, so here are the pictures:
Frog I caught when we went canoeing down the Suwannee River.
We accidentally left this napkin outside one night. When we got up in the morning we found it with raccoon tracks on it!
Me jumping into Hart Springs, where we stayed. The water is a constant 72 degrees fahrenheit (Not celsius, though that would have been nice… Well, if you like death by boiling that is).
Me and my brother and sister at Hart Springs.
Me at the playground near our cabin in Hart Springs. I’m pretty sure this thing was made to be a seat like this!
Me snorkeling in Hart Springs. I was glad I had my wetsuit, it totally kept me warm!
Me, my sister, brother, and mom at Suwannee River, near Hart Springs.
These are opossum tracks we found on the bank of the Suwannee River.
One of the many birds we saw on our trip. They are common to Florida, but they are still cool.
ATTACK OF THE SWAMP SISTER!
Turtle I caught on our first visit to Fanning Springs.
Here we are playing in our cabin in Hart Springs.
Me watching a family of white-tailed deer. Can you find it? Good luck!
Snorkeling in Manatee Springs. There are caves right under where I was swimming. You have to be scuba and cave certified to go through them.
Showing my brother the fish in Manatee Springs.
Our second trip to Fanning Springs, I caught another turtle!
This is a very friendly green anole I found in Fanning Springs. The green anole is actually native to Florida, most of the brown ones you see are invasive!
One of the MANY times I jumped into Fanning Springs!
One of the native snakes I saw.
What is this supposed to mean? Do fish snorkel here or something?!
Ohhhhhh… it’s a fishing hook!
My sister, The Chicken Whisperer. Play by play- She takes one step into the chicken coo…. Oh, hey! She caught a chicken!
Got ham?
Mooooooo!!!!!! Cute alert! Look at the calf in the back!
Campfire time!
Kayaking around 3 Sisters Springs in Crystal River with my mom’s friend, Tommaso.
That’s A LOT of manatees! 3 Sisiters Springs, Crystal River
This was sheer AWESOMENESS! Snorkeling with manatees at 3 Sisters Springs in Crystal River. That is me on the left and Tommaso on the right.
We stayed at the AWESOME Hart Springs House in Hart Springs. To find out more about staying here visit the Hart Springs website!
Hart Springs House
Here are the links to the other springs we visited-
Manatee Springs State Park
Fanning Springs State Park
Otter Springs
3 Sisters Springs, Crystal River
To find out the science behind Florida’s natural springs, visit the Florida Springs site!
I would love to hear your thoughts or other recommendations on natural springs to visit in Florida! Please leave your comment below!
Wow Rhythm! It looks like you all had a great and amazing time. Thanks for sharing!!!
Other than the temperature , it was fun.
Looks like we are going to have to go here again! You had so much fun! Maybe next time it will be in warmer temperatures
Great job on the blog post!
Yea, but hopefully it will be in the summer next time.
I so want to go – what an awesome time! Your photos not only took me there, but they made me happy!!
You should, just go in the summer (you won’t see as many manatees though).
Anybody find the deer?
Ps. there is only 1 in that pic
Wow, it asks for a web site, i forgot mine..ummm, oops.. Nice pics and it looks like fun, i really like the one with the manatee
The pictures are amazing but the captions are the BEST!! And yes, I found the deer but it took me a LONG time.