14. Wekiwa Springs - October 23rd and 24th, 2009

Wekiwa Springs is a common stomping ground for me -- since the water is clean because of the spring, my friends and I often go there to play around in our whitewater kayaks. Wekiwa Springs is about 45 minutes away from East Orlando in Apopka. It is one of the only parks so far that, rather than being in the middle of nowhere, actually has several suburbs full of well-t0-do homes. It is also minutes away from stores and restaurants you would find anywhere. I actually stayed there because I had a taekwondo competition at the Wide World of Sports in Disney and we were only about 25 minutes away.

A warning for this park: in the summer, it closes often. We went to Lower Wekiva River Preserve (which is a park within a park, if you will) over the 4th of July weekend, and the park closed every day. It is only $6 a carload, which is a great deal for a bunch of kids in the summer. When we went camping, I was very suprised at the amount of tent campers I saw -- the most I have ever seen at any park. The next day was the fall festival and that may have had something to do with it.

I also have two fun facts about Wekiwa Springs:

1. The name "Wekiwa" is Creek Indian for "bubbling water". The name Wekiva is Creek Indain for "flowing water". Therein lies the difference between Wekiwa Springs and Wekiva River.

2. Because of the overcrowding at the park, Wekiwa Springs purchased a tram that would take campers from the campground to the spring (because it was too long to walk), thereby freeing up parking spaces for others. However, people did not like waiting for the tram and the idea basically flopped. However, if you ever take the tram tour at Colt Creek -- guess where the tram came from?? Everything happens for a reason.

This park is also a great canoe. It is a little bit of a walk to launch your canoe/kayak, but not as long as Silver River. Then, it is about an hour canoe ride to Wekiva Island, which is a nice bar on the side of the river. We often stop there for a break. The owners changed over the summer and they really spruced the place up. I would recommend it. It is also usually easy to canoe back up river, as the current is not very strong. You will see many beginning canoers doing it.

Well, I guess that is about it, a great and busy park to visit! Note: The pictures are from several Wekiwa trips. Thanks Dan for their use!

Until next time,

The camping bug

13. Silver River - October 11th and 12th

This park, by far of the others, has the most interesting mix of great parts, and not-so-great parts. As indicated by the name, the park is on the river which ends in Silver Springs, an amusement park that predates Disney World. They are both located in Ocala, which is 30 minutes outside of Gainesville. They were both easy to find, and we were actually able to drive through historic downtown Ocala, which I always love to do. I have never been to Silver Springs, but if you want to go swimming it may be the better choice -- there was no swimming in this park. Even if you were allowed, the area they had roped off was very small.

The best thing about the park is a man who calls himself "Mr. Sam". He is 79 years old and he works part-time at Silver River with the Marion County school system. He was born and raised in Marion County, at a time when the only people who settled it were "Florida Crackers". He told stories about living with his momma and daddy and six siblings in a two-room house they built. The boys slept on the porch with the dogs and the girls all slept together in the second room. They made all of their own food and clothing. He was a lucky one though, because his momma chose one girl and one boy who got to attend school (a two mile walk) and he was one of the lucky ones. When he started school, it only went to the 8th grade, but he got luckier still because by the time he finished it went to 12th grade. I have met few other storytellers to surpass the hold this man had on the audience. He only does his speech at the park one Saturday a month, and I strongly recommend you call ahead. He will make your trip and you will never forget him. We were the lucky ones that day.

The main problem with this park is how you actually get to the river: it is a mile-long walk that vehicles are not allowed on (though it appears they could drive on it if needed). Just so you know I am not exaggerating, they actually give the first hour of the canoe ride to you for free, because it takes half an hour to walk there and half an hour to walk back! It would be nearly impossible for someone to take their own canoe, unless you had a caddy. Also, once you get to Silver Springs, you aren't really suppose to get out because it is their property. Alas, we did not go canoeing there.

We did, however, enjoy several of the trails. One of them had a sinkhole that was formerly used as a trash dump (hey, it probably seemed like a good idea at the time, the hole was already dug!) The park (funding permitting) is currently working on restoring the sinkhole to its natural state.

It was a nice place to camp, with many very large spots. I believe it was $22.00 a night. There were also several cabins, which we drove past, and they were $105 a night. Maybe next time we will make it to Silver Springs!

Til next time,

The camping bug