On to O’Leno State Park

Tuesday March 26 and Wednesday March 27, 2013
Site 28, O'Leno State Park
High Springs, Florida

 

Tuesday

We don’t have far to go in moving from south of Gainesville at Paynes Prairie to North West of Gainesville at O’Leno so I go out running and afterwards stop  ‘one last time’ at the Visitor Center viewing tower.  And look who is here to see me off.

We haven’t seen the buffalo after that first time but the horses have become pretty faithful.  This morning the colt is napping but s/he looks up just as I leave the platform and have put my camera away.

Bye Guys!   It’s been fabulous spending time with you.

 

 

After showering, breakfast and battening down the hatches we are out of the campsite just before the 1pm check out time.  The trip is just my size, 45 miles up I75, then 7 miles to and through the big town of High Springs on Rt 441 to a large, deep Site 28 at O’Leno state park home of the disappearing Santa Fe River.  But more about that later.

 

 

 

Wednesday

Today is the day to check out the park. 

O’Leno has a total of 61 campsites divided into two campgrounds.  Dogwood is near the entrance station and Magnolia near the picnic grounds, rental cabins and nature center all further into the park. 

 

I’ve chosen Magnolia since it is closer to the river and most of the trails but it is also the least secluded and potentially the least quiet.  But it’s nicely wooded and the sites are large.  Each campsite has water, electric, and in ground fire pit and a picnic table.  There is one bathroom in each loop.  And just FYI, they close it for an hour and a half every day from 11:30 to 1:00 for cleaning.   Heaven help you if you need it during that time.

 

We walk the short distance from the campground down to the center of the park on the river.  It’s a lovely setting and one of the first things we see is an explanation finally of why “O” Leno.

 

 

O’Leno is named after the town that once stood here.  No it’s not an Irish town.  It’s name was Keno and then Leno.  When it became a ghost town it was known as ‘old’ Leno.  Beats me why the park calls it O’Leno.
(O LEAN O)

 

The park is located along the banks of the Santa Fe River which is a tributary of the Suwannee.  The Santa Fe is a 75 mile slow moving dark brown river.  It is particularly unusual in that if you are kayaking along down stream, all of a sudden it picks up speed and disappears.  No more river, just a round sink.  The river goes underground and reemerges 3 miles away in River Rise State Preserve where it is again a slow but much wider river.   This is one of the two main things we have come here to see.   But that’s further down the river.

 

 

 

The not so scenic swimming area is a roped off section of the river up stream from the bridge.  Kayakers and canoeists can not paddle through it and down to the sink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The buildings put up by the CCC are located here.  The biggest is the mess hall right on the river.

 

O’Leno is another of the Florida State Parks created by the CCC in 1934.  All of their structures are still in use nearly 80 years later.  Mess hall is a terrific building inside and out.  The camp boys ate in here from the kitchen behind the left hand fire place and enjoyed meetings, lectures and entertainments presented from the stage in front of the fire place on the right.

 

 

 

 

The room is open and airy with shuttered windows, clear story windows and the doors opposite each other.  All are screened and create great ventilation.   Notice the carved totem poles as vertical supports.  I wonder if one of the boys was from the Pacific Northwest.  I don’t think there were any Native totem poles in Florida.  But I like them just the same.

 

 

The other CCC buildings, 16 cabins and a very interestingly designed building now being used as a museum,  are also here but we don’t check these out today.  We want to have time to hike the yellow trail down to the sink and to see the bridge.

 

 

But the most famous creation of the Civilian conservation Corps in O’Leno is the suspension bridge over the Santa Fe River.  It is the second of the things we most wanted to experience in the park.  The bridge still spans the river.  But our timing is terrible as it is under renovation, first time in 25 years, and won’t be open again for another 2 weeks.  I’m sure with all the people trying to swing it and kids being kids it needs repair but it’s a serious bummer planning error. I had no idea.  Kind of like the hours of Devil’s Millhopper.  I’m feeling a bit unprepared recently.

 

  

 

 

We have read that the park also features sinkholes, hardwood hammocks, river swamps and sandhills so we start off down the River Trail which not surprisingly follows the river to the sink.  The wild azaleas are in bloom and it is a really lovely hike.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From its headwaters at Santa Fe Lake the river flows over 44 miles to this point, the Santa Fe River sink, where it disappears.  It reappears 3 miles away at the Santa Fe River rise and flows 35 more miles to reach the Suwannee River.  900 million gallons of water a day flow underground through this sink.   Because the river flows underground here a natural bridge is formed between the sink and the rise enabling Native Americans and early pioneers to cross the river.  And enabling us to walk down one side and back up the other.

Just imagine, here you are paddling down the river and oppps, no more river, just a big circle.

 

  

 

The local residents of the sink don’t seem to mind the duck weed at all.

 

 

 

 

 

When I looked closer I thought…. has he got his arms around his log holding on tight to keep from going round and round like the other things in the sink.  What do you think??

 

  

 

From the land bridge vantage point behind the river sink, I can zoom in and see up the river as it comes to the sink.

It is very interesting to watch the water hyacinth patches go around and around along with other debris that has reached this can go no further point.  

 

 

 

 

The River Walk  crosses the land bridge where some wooden bridges span sinkholes.  We find gorgeous bayou looking cypress swamps with knees.  Looks like a convention of gnomes doesn’t it?

 

  

 

We walk down the river on the opposite shore until we again reach the suspension bridge which we can’t use to cross back over.  We have to walk the trail in reverse.   But I don’t mind at all because it is a lovely hike.

 

 

 

 

When we return to the center of things we take a look at the Santa Fe River flood gauge.  David is standing at the green 2012 band which is slightly taller than he at 6’.   SIX feet of water above the banks which are at least 4’ deep at this moment and the river seems very “normal”.  I guess I am glad I wasn’t here last year.

The red band at about his nose is 1998.  And the one WAY at the top is 1934.  The CCC started working on creating the park in that year.  How in the world???

 

 

And of course no good hike is complete without a tree hug.  This park has some giant trees.  This one is right outside the CCC Mess Hall.  It’s so big I am off balance trying to get my arms stretched around it.