Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

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Debby Day 3

Wednesday June 27, 2012
Lithia Springs Park Site 25
Lithia, Florida

 

Debby on Tuesday 069Lost of rain brings beautiful mushrooms.  I swear I didn’t put that leaf there.

 

Now I’m wondering if she’s playing with us. 

Yesterday was a day of light rain and then sun and then heavy rain and then sun. Over and over and over. The river is still rising and we are told there is talk of evacuating the 3 campers remaining in the campground.  The park is closed.  So these may be the last Lithia Springs Park flood pictures we’ll take.  Therefore I’m going back into the achieves and get some to compare with yesterday and today.

 

Debby on Tuesday 076

 

Tuesday I go out running first thing. 

Hot and muggy as always.  No rain but humiddidity by the ton.  I don’t run as far in the same amount of time when it is this difficult.  The water levels are up so high over night that I cannot run the loop by either the public or natural spring.  The waters are over the roadway.   The water covers the parking lot.  I could kayak through it.

 

Debby on Tuesday 074A

 

 

This is day 3 of the flood.

After breakfast we take a walk for David to see what the Alafia has done over night.  We’ve had no tornado warnings or watches since the one last night at 7:30 so that is really nice.  If tropical storm watches and flood warnings could be said to be “nice”.

 

Here’s what we find in our favorite site 40.  The one we didn’t move into a week ago today. 

 

Pictures 1  & 2 are Tuesday  Picture 3 is today.  There has been no rain today but the river is still clearly rising.  Notice the difference in the dry ground around the tree with resurrection fern in the center of the site.

 

Debby on Tuesday 001

 

Debby on Tuesday 002

 

Debby on Wednesday 001

 

This is the view looking at the same drive way on May 31st. Notice the electric box in all the pictures.

May 28-31 017

 

The first picture on the left below is Tuesday.  The wood post on the right in the picture is the restraining fence.


The picture on the right is May 12 taken by leaning over the fence.
Both are taken from site 40 looking at the river.  Notice the notch on the tree in both pictures.

 

Debby on Tuesday 008A

 

Site 40 Lithia Springs 018A 

Same view from inside Winnona looking out the dining window. May 12
Notice the notch.

Site 40 Lithia Springs 035

 

This is taken looking up from the spot where I am sitting in my chair.  The water is now over the bottom rail of that restraining fence.

Site 40 Lithia Springs 023

 

Sat & Sun 012

 

Site 40, our patio view opposite the river Tuesday and on May 13.  Today’s picture is taken from in front of the fence which you can see in the bottom of the shot.  The other from the far left of the campsite but of the same view.

Debby on Tuesday 016

 

 Sat & Sun 024

 

 

We walk along the road to the boat.  Our usual paths are totally under feet of water.


Back in April the water was so far down below the dock you couldn’t launch from it.

 Lithia Site #38 026

 

Notice how far down we had to go from the posts at the top to launch the kayaks in May.   The picture beside it is Monday. 

 Wednesday (8)

debby 0n monday 030

 

Today no posts at all.  Way under water.  Today you can’t get near where the dock is totally submerged by at least 4 feet or more.  Those are the canoe racks up near the road in the forefront.  The kayak launch is completely submerged.

 

Debby on Tuesday 030

 

We can’t get near the spring from any direction.

 

Here is the road to the parking lot by the spring today.  No pictures of the spring.  We can’t get anywhere near it.

Debby on Tuesday 033

 

The parking lot by the spring is now a lake.

Debby on Tuesday 042

 

P1020487

 

The Life guard station on the left way up on an island June 6th. Notice the beach.

P1020511

 

P1020490

 

Because we can no longer get anywhere near the spring, this shot is zoomed from afar.  But you can see the water is creeping up on the boards of the building.   The water has now run out and under all the wooden railings you can see in the above shots.  No evidence of a spring.  It looks like the spring fence is now in the middle of a giant lake.  The parking lot and spring are one watery lake.

Debby on Wednesday 041 

 

The great blue heron must be a bit confused.

This is what the spring run looked like before the storms.  The great blue is in the middle right.  You can hardly see him until I zoom up.
This is what he is used to doing every day.  Everything in this picture is now WAY under water.

 

Morning Walk (17)

The water is so low his feet are barely getting wet.

Morning Walk (33)

 

Morning Walk (25)

 

This picture shows how rapidly the river is rising.  On Monday,  the great blue is looking at his spring run from farther back on the bank.

 

debby 0n monday 053

 

Tuesday the entire spring run bank is underwater as is the walkway to the natural spring beside it and the picnic area along that walk.  So the great blue moves even further back from his spring run on Tuesday and into the far side of the picnic area.

 

Debby on Tuesday 060

 

Debby on Tuesday 062

 

But today he’s had to go to higher ground.
What about tomorrow?

 Debby on Wednesday 019

 

No word yet on evacuation but the flood warning is in effect until Sunday, the day we are scheduled to leave.

I’d say the drought is over.  Wouldn’t you? 

20 comments:

  1. WOW...that is scary!!! Could you drive out if you had too?!?! Sure hope the water receeds and does not cause you any problems. Stay safe!!

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  2. Oh, my. I'm glad that y'all didn't get in #40. What an experience. It's very interesting to me though because I have a fascination with rising water. I can't explain it unless it has something to do with running outside as a kid after a thunderstorm and meeting my neighbor to walk through the water running in the ditches. I think that it was that Tarzan effect -- pretending that we were traveling on some crocodile-laden river. Hmmm . . . that might not be too much of a stretch in Florida. Yikes! Be careful! Watch out for 'gators!

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  3. Indeed the drought is over, waaay over. I'm just worried you might need some water wings for Winnona (say that five times fast) to get out of the campground.

    Debby is just a Tropical Storm, thank goodness she wasn't a full hurricane.

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  4. Quite a change in the park with all that water. Hope there is someplace dry you can move to if necessary.

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  5. Wow, we sure can relate. Water is a powerful thing. Don't get penned in!

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  6. Any word on the roads between where you are and where you are going, Sherry? With the storm out in the Atlantic, maybe the water will recede after peaking. One good thing about Florida is that it's Sandy. In Georgia, it's clay and the water runs over it like cement.

    Very interesting comparing pictures from previous visits. As everyone else says, "Be careful."

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  7. Yeah, I would say so. Although sometimes all that water just goes away and the drought still holds. Hope you haven't had to get out and about during this stay, since it seems that you might find all sorts of barriers out there in the bigger world. whew! hang in there, you two.

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  8. Sure wish you could send some of that water to Colorado. Horrible situations for both states and no way to help each other.
    Fingers crossed Winnona makes it out easily.

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  9. Looks like your mushroom is enjoying a "reboot," too. Nothing like a refreshing leaf to start your day right.

    Mom said her neighbor's house is flooded, but she's on higher ground and is fine. She stayed last night at the hospital because her road was closed.

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  10. Sure wish mother nature was more equitable about where it dropped all that water. So many places could use it right now to help with the raging fires.

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  11. Great pictures I am surprised they have not asked you to leave the park. The drought is probably over. Florida seems to be feast or famine when it comes to water.

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  12. I always thought of Lithia Springs as a jungle. I guess it's more like a swamp now.
    Syl

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  13. Tom & Ella WilliamsJune 28, 2012 at 8:42 AM

    Hi, I'm one of your 'lurkers'. I check your updates daily but don't usually comment. Frankly, I don't know what to say when I read of the trials that you folks are going through. I do offer up prayers for you that you both get through this with the LEAST amount of disruption of your lives.
    And by the way, I think since you've spent so much time with Debbie, you should be more familiar and just call 'hur' Deb. grin.
    Great flood photos. I'm glad you showed the preflood pics in conjunction with the 'now' photos.

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  14. Good comparison pictures. Glad you didn't get site 40. Are the roads out of the campground safe to drive on? I think I would be a bit concerned with the power box at site 40 after all that water.

    The good news is that there is no river near Quail Run and all the sites are high and dry.

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  15. I'm sure you are monitoring your exit strategy! :-) It sure is a weird summer with all the fires, the floods, the drought and the heat. It's one extreme to another.

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  16. Nature's fury is something, isn't it? Hope you stay safe! Warm wishes to both you and David!

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  17. Hi Sherry,
    Thank you for showing the before and now pictures. Somehow, in the "busyness" of our lives at the moment, I missed part 2 of your blog and have been concerned til now how you two were doing. Was really glad to see this post and that you were o.k.

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  18. It sure looks like the drought is over! Good thing site 40 was already taken when you got there. Hope you don't have any problems getting out of there on Sunday.

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  19. Must be nice to be water lovers like you guys are. I would have been gone in no time. I get an eerie feeling around slowly rising water, do not know why. Enjoy that once in a lifetime event you are living through. Thanks for the pics and references.

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  20. The drought is definitely over...my goodness - having been there when those older pictures were taken, I am amazed by how much water that truly was/is - I, too, am surprised that they did not make you leave - is the way out clear? I, too, am glad you were not lucky enough to get site 40!!Amazing that even after a few days there is still a flood warning for the Alafia on weather.com. I remember biking down that road leading to the spring & parking lot - totally submerged...Mother Nature had her way with Florida. And now she is making us sweat it out in the mid-atlantic with the record breaking temps and no rain whatsoever :(

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