We arrived in Crawfordville last night, to stay and visit a couple of days with Indy's family. Today, they took us to Wakulla Springs to see fossils, an incredible array of birds, and alligators. We were hoping for a manatee sighting, but the weather has been unseasonably warm, and so they were further a stream then they usually are. Maybe next time!
The entrance to Wakulla Springs in Florida.
The trees and growth in this area is very interesting. Most of the area is kept as a nature preserve and so it appears very wild.
Around the bottoms of these trees are "knees" or outgrowths from the base of the tree.
We saw so many types of birds, I think this one was an anhinga.
Turtles! And, in the background you can see an anhinga, or snake bird, getting its food from the water.
A little blue heron, if I remember correctly.
Yes, we were that close to an alligator.
The great egret, taking off and flying over the water.
Another view of it flying.
The view here was so peaceful.
I really like how they model and spread their wings, it's a great view.
Possibly another egret, or maybe a heron?
Moving through the water at the edge of our boat.
On the second half of our boat tour, we went through the section that several movies had been filmed in...here are what are left of the trees from the old Tarzan with Johnny Weissmuller movies.
And here is the log that is felled and blocks the boat from escaping in the "Creature from the Black Lagoon," a personal favorite of Indy's.
The Wakulla Springs Lodge.
Inside, they have plenty of "Creature" paraphernalia.
This old alligator was killed and a reward was offered to capture whomever killed him, but no one ever came forward.
These are the ceilings in the lodge...so lovely, and they remind me of a certain, recently famous Disney movie's decorations...(shhh! I can't say the "Fr**en" word in my house anymore without groans from 3/5ths of the population.)
The decorations and upholstery especially caught my eye.
Another view of the grand entrance.
They were setting up for a wedding and reception, so we couldn't explore the entire area.
Then, we walked over to the archaeological dig that is currently going on to find artifacts from a few hundred years ago.
These are the kinds of glass trading beads they are trying to find...super small, can you imagine?
Sissi totally got caught up in the whole process and they were teaching her and allowing her to do all kinds of things. She really enjoyed sifting for lost treasure.
One of the lead historical archaeologists on the dig. He was a wealth of knowledge and told us all kinds of stories.
Sissi had fun transporting the items to the lady who was cataloging the finds.
Aunt Gaylene, talking to the workers on site.
Aunt Gayle and Susan, looking at some of the things that have been found in this and surrounding areas.
At one point, Sissi saw her sifting objects jump...and she found a little toad. She named him Arch E. Ologist, or Archie for short. We left him in his natural habitat so that he would have water, food, shelter, and a place to raise a family.
