Day Trips from Perry, Florida

We drove to Perry KOA RV Park on Monday, March 16th. On Tuesday we toured to Keaton Beach which is a small seaport resort on the Gulf Coast. The highway to Keaton from Perry is through pine forest wilderness, huge plantations. Their program appears to be very successful as clear cut logging on 20-30 year old plantations was being carried out.
In Keaton Beach there are very unique bayous bisecting inland with numerous private boat moorings attached to residences. We were told that the houses have to be 20-22 feet in the air on posts before the insurance companies will provide protection from occasional tidal surges. We noted some fishing vessels set up for lobster and some shrimpers. Keaton Beach is a haven for bird watchers; we saw a small flock on the sandy beach which nobody we spoke to was able to identify.
After Keaton Beach we came upon Steinhatchee Falls, a picnic site set up by the State. There were footpaths along the river and nature trails through the surrounding forest.
We returned to the RV Park in time to enjoy St. Patrick’s Day dinner of corned ham and cabbage with other park residents. Faye’s crossword expertise won her first prize in a timed contest!
Today, Wednesday we drove to Wakulla Springs Lodge and State Park which is a 6,000 acre wildlife sanctuary. The heart of the park is the world famous Wakulla Springs which flows at 400,000 gallons a minute from the majestic springs to create the Wakulla River, one of the last pristine rivers in Florida. The bowl of the springs is one of the world’s largest and deepest freshwater springs, a haven for local youths who love the exhilarating rush of a leap from the dive tower into the 125 ft bowl. Check it out online at www.floridastateparks.org. The Wakulla Springs Lodge was built in 1937 by Edward Ball, a well to do Florida businessman, and is an excellent example of Mediterranean Revival architecture.
We took the forty minute boat tour and saw alligators, turtles, white egrets, wood ducks, ospreys, hawks, white ibis, water snakes, and other wildlife. The pristine clear water revealed numerous mullets jumping all over the place with catfish feeding on the bottom.
We then drove to Tallahassee, the state capitol before heading home to our RV in Perry.

Later…..