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Sunday, January 26, 2014

Spring to Spring Trail

January 20-January 26

Blue Spring State Park
We left Jekyll Island and drove to Blue Spring State Park.  When we arrived, I put on my shorts and went for a bike ride.  It was so nice to be where I could bike without a winter coat!  The trail starts right outside the park entrance and goes up and down and around bends in a very cool forest environment.  The railroad is beside the trail.  Here is a map of the various finished pieces of the trail.  The top section is Blue Springs portion.  Its 2.7 miles to the loop.  If you do the loop its a 5.5 one way ride.  I just went to where the loop started because it was turning dark.  I had forgotten how early it gets dark in Florida!
The next day we walked four miles around Blue Spring looking at the manatees.  They sure are funny creatures. 
The problem with Blue Spring is that the traffic to see the manatees drives us nuts.  When we leave to do regular living stuff like grocery shopping or a trip to the laudramat, you have a long line to enter the park in which you have to wait.  It gets old.  But the campsites are large, there is a nice walk to see the manatees and a bike trail right across from the entrance.  

Lake Monroe Park

We weren't able to get a campsite for the weekend so we decided to travel to Lake Monroe Park.  Its a county park and is at the other end of the spring-to-spring trail.  Someday the two trails will meet but until then one can only ride on the red portions.  So Friday and Saturday we biked and hiked the trail at the lower end. 
 Saturday was warm enough to take lunch along and bike to Gemini Springs. The plants along the trail sure are different from most of the country's flora.   We had our picnic lunch on the way back.  The campground had great sites but LOTS of noise that we didn't like.  Road noise and some factory of some sort.  It went on all night long.  We will not return to this county campground. 

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