Revisiting Manatee Springs State Park

On February 20, 2023 -- about 11 months ago -- we visited Manatee Springs State Park in Chiefland, Florida, and posted about it in this blog entry.  We were camped at Suwanee River Bend RV Park in nearby Old Town.  This year, our RV is posted in Cedar Key, south of Old Town and closer to the Gulf Coast.  But we were looking for a hike of suitable length in one of the parks or preserves nearby, and decided we wanted to revisit Manatee Springs.

Manatee Springs appears to have been inhabited regularly for at least 9,000 years.  The first known residents were the Timucuan Indians, and it is believed that parts of the state park had been a Timucuan Indian village site, with access to the Suwanee River for transportation as well as fresh water.  Excavations at Manatee Spring Park have revealed that the Indian village was heavily populated throughout history. Fragments of pottery, bone awls, and arrowheads have been found on the site. Sea turtle shells found at the village site suggest that the inhabitants traveled by water down the Suwannee River to the Gulf of Mexico.

It's rare that we have a chance to visit the same park twice.  We decided to start this time with the spring where, in warmer weather, manatees might be found.  We spotted manatees here last year.  Not this time.

But we did see this great white heron on the opposite shoreline:

In the winter, without leaves on the trees, the springs looked pretty desolate --

-- but the water was still clear.  We could see a raft of vegetation floating just under the surface, looking like some prehistoric or alien aquatic life, floating over the limestone floor of the spring:

We ran across this little manatee, and Dave, recalling our prior visit, gave the little fellow a pet:

The woods themselves are very quiet this time of year.  But we could hear the incessant tap-tap-tap of the pileated woodpeckers as they hunted for bugs in the upper story of the forest.  We spotted this one as we crossed the top of the spring --

-- and then this woodpecker as we started up the North Trail:

We finally reached the official trailhead for the North Trail -- "Mile 0" -- and Kathy knelt in homage while David recorded the start of our hike:

We had a late start to our hike, so it was about a half hour into it when it was time for us to stop for lunch.  Kathy prepared some hot soup that we carried in our Zojirushi portable mugs (courtesy of our daughter Katie).  We munched on a Southern biscuit and slurped the soup and enjoyed the sunny, cold day:

Not long after we started back on the trail after lunch, we spotted a hollow space at the base of a tree, speculated that some critter must live there, and Kathy spotted a glint that told her she had found a geocache!  She opened it, but there was no writing instrument to record our find.  We inspected the cache and replaced it in its hiding place for the next geocacher to find.

Some further way along, we came across a small pond formed in a hollow that resulted from a sinkhole.  These occur when the acidic plant materials leach acids into the ground, dissolving limestone over small cavities.  The roofs of the cavities collapse, creating a hollow for water to collect.

This is a pretty typical view on our trail today:

Toward the end of our hike, we spotted a sizeable number of burrows and we speculated what must have formed them.  This hole was slightly bigger than a softball, and we guessed that it might be a gopher tortoise.  However, that would be a pretty small tortoise, so we were not sure.  The other holes were much smaller, so we were left to wonder what might have created the holes.

This was a wonderful hike for a cold, sunny day.  We wished we had found as interesting a hike that we had not already covered, but, by the same token, this hike was much greener than the last time we visited.  We appreciated the chance to get out and enjoy this beautiful area during a crisp, dry, sunny day.