Early Morning Kayak Up the Rock Spring Run

Friday April 1, 2016                                                         Most Recent Posts:
Wekiwa Springs State Park                                               Kayaking the WekiVA from WekiWA
Apopka, Florida                                                               Another Beautiful Florida Springs State Park

 

 

 

This morning walking over to the boat dock, as I cross the road,  I find this fine turkey hen out on the road pecking at the asphalt looking for who knows what.  Actually there are three of them and they are just strolling down the road pecking furiously.  There must be something in the asphalt that they like.  Everytime I put my camera up they start running.  Too funny.

 

 

 

I am out again at sunrise in my kayak. Mist is on the water just like yesterday.  I could definitely make this a habit.

 

 

The water is like a mirror.

 

 

It is such a fantastically beautiful morning.

 

 

Resurrection ferns are growing down the palm trunk

 

I spot a black crowned night heron.   And then a second.

 

 

 

 

 

Such a magical morning on the Wekiva.  I feel like I’m in a fairy tale.

 

 

 

This time as the Wekiva meets the Rock Spring instead of continuing straight ahead, I turn left and head up the Rock Spring Run.  Here at the mouth of the Rock Spring run the water is as swift as it is going to be after its 8 mile journey from the spring.  Along those 8 miles smaller springs join and so the run becomes faster as you move down stream.

 

 

I plan to do about the same thing today as I did before, paddle for a few miles, a few hours or something like that and then turn around and come back.   It’s always hard for me to know when to turn around.  I just want to keep going and going.  I have that problem with hiking too.

However, I am not sure if I’d want to paddle up the entire 8 miles in order to be able to float back down.  That would take the entire day.   I’m only out for the early morning before the spring breakers get on the water.

 

 

Although it is moving along, the Rock Spring is shallow and so clear it really doesn’t appear to be moving.  But just try to stop paddling and see what happens.  The swamp lily on the bank really draws my attention.

 

 

It is so lovely!

 

 

How shallow the water is becomes obvious when I see this great blue heron just strolling up the river in front of me.

 

 

I watch a limpkin catch snail after snail and it really looks like he eats it whole, shell and all.  Boy he must have some digestive systems if that’s true.  I later look this up and apparently young limpkins, but not adults, do eat snails whole.  Limpkins’ preferred food is the apple snail which is a giant snail.  They remove the meat from the shell when they catch that one.

 

 

Damsel flies are are everywhere.

 

 

Rock Springs run is a quieter narrower has a more wild feeling than the larger Wekiva.  Little blue herons both the white juveniles and the traditonal blue adults seem to be around every bend.

 

 

 

 

I can never get over the color of their bills

 

 

 

This is just a perfect morning for me.  I’m in a gorgeous natural area and I”m all alone with the turtles and the birds and the fish.  It is so quiet!!

 

 

Eventually I do turn around and float back down the Rock Spring to the Wekiva.  It’s nice having done the work first and having the relaxation in the second half.

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t see another person until I’m near the mouth of the Rock Spring. Then the later morning paddlers start up the run.  The very first ones I encounter are paddle boarders.  I doubt that they will make it very far against this current especially around the curves where the water is even swifter.  But there are piles more spring breakers going all directions once I am in the Wekiva River.

 

 

 

An absolutely divine morning kayaking comes to an end.  Can’t wait to do it again.  In fact, I think I will arrange a shuttle and we can start at the spring head and come all the way down the whole 8 miles.  Stay tuned.