We arrived at Blue Springs on Sunday afternoon, July 20. The "real feel" temperature was 111 degrees. After getting the 5th wheel set up on our very small, sandy, hot site we were exhausted from the heat.
Even Maggie was all done in from the heat...
After recovering sufficiently from the heat (all the while I'm thinking, "boy did I make a mistake choosing this state park!") we made our usual trip to Walmart to get what we forgot. We did not go to the
spring at all Sunday. We were in for the biggest surprise the following morning. We put on our suits and sunscreen and headed to the spring. This is what we found...
It was like a paradise. We spent the week floating lazily in the head spring. We would get out to eat lunch, then go back for the afternoon and float some more. We even saw a baby gator watching us one morning!
Sorry, no picture of the gator.
Then on Friday morning we were in for the surprise of a lifetime. We were tied up to our favorite tree when something gray swam under us...
It was a manatee!! It is very rare to see a manatee in the springs in the summer.
They stay in the rivers where food is more abundant. The manatee hung out in the head spring all day. A park volunteer in a canoe stayed close by making sure she wasn't bothered. The next morning we walked to the spring for one last swim before heading home and found that the head spring was closed. We were so disappointed until we found out the reason...
Our manatee friend was a new Mamma!! She had given birth to a bouncing baby calf during the night. The park rangers closed the spring for the protection of mother and baby.
