Of Swamps and Springs

Liz Spring and Janna get in the holiday mood

After leaving Charleston and the coast we headed up to Columbia to see our granddaughter Spring, a student at the University of South Carolina (Go Gamecocks!). We watched the holiday Carolina Carillion parade noticing that, in spite of there being about an equal number of blacks and whites in the parade, few of the floats and marching bands were racially integrated. Separate but equal appears to be alive and well in the south, at least from these northern eyes. We experienced just a glimpse of the harsh early December cold snap as we felt the temperature plunge from 67 to 47 degrees in the time it took to watch the parade. After making a plan with Spring for her to travel with us on her spring break, we took a quick tour of the campus and Spring’s dorm room. Then we headed south, leaving dear Spring swamped with studying  for upcoming finals.

Vidalia Decorations

Our leisurely pace through central Georgia took us through tiny towns, small plots of cotton, collards, and onions (yes, we went through Vidalia) and vast acres of swamps and woodlots of pine trees. Finally we pulled into Stephen C Foster State Park in the middle of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. This is a vast acreage of floating peat, grass and lilypads, anchored by huge moss-covered Cyprus trees. We arrived just in time for the boat-trip out into the swamp and happily enjoyed the breeze of the ride as the temperature neared 80 degrees (and the humidity exceeded it). Alligators lounged in the sun and turtles lined up on logs as we floated down a major channel where dozens of ibis roosted. The little blue herons were well represented, as well as anhingas, cormorants and both black vultures and turkey vultures.

We crossed over into Florida and immediately headed to White Springs, formerly known for the healing waters and now home to the Stephen Foster Folk Cultural Center. Mr. Foster was never there but he added a great deal of spring to the area when he wrote about their river. They are swamped with visitors who want to see the “Swanee.”

Egret in the 72 degree Manatee Springs

Then we headed to one of our favorite campgrounds of our previous trip: Manatee Springs State Park. Manatee Spring emits between 50 and 150 million gallons of water a day into the lower Suwanee River. The temperature is 72 degrees year round which is why the manatees come to visit in the winter when the surrounding sea water temperature drops.  We took an evening walk through the park and were delighted to come across two very active armadillos, busily digging up the nuts that the squirrels were equally actively burying. In the morning, we took a walk down to the river and were blessed with the sight of two manatees sliding into the springs from the river, among the first to be seen this year. We’re feeling a bit swamped and have decided to take a blog holiday for the holidays. But don’t worry, we’ll be back before spring. 

Happy holidays to everyone. Love, Liz and Janna