Troy Springs

More Suwannee, More Grand Reflections

We hit the road today with no particular objective other than to explore. We headed Southwest from White Springs toward the town of Live Oak and from there proceeded South to where the road might lead us. Just as in the South of Georgia, this region of Florida boasts only small pockets of anything more than distantly separated houses, ranches, poultry farms. There is an average of 25 miles or so between small towns, but it is interesting to note that there are 18 State Parks located within a 30 mile radius of our location at the Suwannee Valley RV Campground. Eventually, today's journey led us to spotting a sign for the Troy Springs State Park and we decided to make that today's exploration.

Considering the season, after paying the $3.00 at an unattended gate, we were not at all surprised to see only one other car parked in the lot in the center of the park. As much as we enjoy these expeditions, it is made all the better by being nearly alone in these vast, quiet and beautiful places. I can only imagine that it would be quite a different experience at the height of the season; however, that being said, we were almost immediately joined by a 13 year old boy who offered to be our guide. While we generally like to do these things on our own but in this case we would have missed out on a lot if we had not had his help (more companionship).

The central part of the park is the First Magnitude Spring (Florida has quite a number of these, the "First Magnitude" meaning that they produce more than 100 cubic feet of fresh water per second). This particular spring discharges up to 96 million gallons of water per day which flows down a 200-foot spring run to join the Suwannee River. The main portion of the spring is about 50 yards or so in diameter and at least 70 feet deep with terraced limestone rock formations providing a beautiful visual effect both above and below the water's surface. These springs are favorite haunts of scuba divers, particularly in warmer conditions. If you look closely, in two of the shots you can spot the remains of a Civil War-era steamship, the Madison, which was scuttled in the spring run in 1861 by the Confederate Navy, fearing it might be captured by the advancing Union Army.

Another aspect of the park is, of course, more of the Suwannee River. EVEN 152 YEARS AFTER it was made famous by Stephen Foster, the Suwannee fits the song. From the Okefenokee Swamp in Southeastern Georgia (by the way, the continent's biggest swamp, and one of the few elevated ones), it winds down 235 miles to the Gulf of Mexico in Northern Florida. Of all major American rivers it is the least polluted and least obstructed. I'm not sure how many, but it is also fed by a number of First Magnitude Springs like Troy on the way to the gulf.

Also of note, thanks to our guide, Deb was able to spend some time fishing the Suwannee & just before we were about to leave she landed a mullet of 3 pounds or better and our guide was thrilled when Deb gave it to him to take home for dinner.

Click here for today's photos.