South of Palatka, we see the Palatka Yacht Club! Wish we had known about that earlier.
A defunct restaurant still holds some interest, at least for the buzzards.
A defunct restaurant still holds some interest, at least for the buzzards.
As the river is narrow, twisting and turning here, with lots of tributaries, it teems with fish, and fish camps.
We crossed the second largest lake in Florida today, Lake George (Okeechobee is the largest, which we crossed in 2003). Lake George is almost 10 miles across. Some of the springs that feed the St. Johns River are remnants of an ancient ocean trapped beneath the Florida peninsula, pushing up saltwater. This causes Lake George to be saltier than the river at Green Cove Springs, even though the latter is 60 miles closer to the ocean.
The lake’s southern exit is prominently marked with a fence-like funnel.
Shortly after resuming the narrow channel, we anchored for the night behind Morrison Island, launched the dinghy and went for a jungle cruise.
Our cruise was through Blue Creek, a convoluted channel with natural banks and some houses, like this dream vacation rental.
Along the creek, some bird lover had installed scores of gaily-painted birdhouses, affixed to tree trunks or suspended from limbs.
Florida flora abounds here, like this Lance-leaved Arrowhead.
We saw numerous hammocks, where layers of soil and peat have formed slightly elevated ground where trees are able to grow.
We spied lots of gators, which are actually quite shy. This one was a granddaddy, who slithered into the water just as the shutter snapped. The tail was about 60 inches around at its widest point. Lots of the four Bs – bites, bags, belts and boots!
There are several species of turtles, like this Common Cooter.
And no relation, many American Coots.
This Illusion turned into someone’s nightmare.
Back on the main channel, we spotted this odd contraption, a pontoon boat with an MG mounted on deck. We had no clue as to how the owner used it.
After all this touring, we stopped at a creek-side wateringhole………
….where we had fish camp-style refreshments. Next, dinner back aboard Monarch, and then sleep tight on the anchor.
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