
![]() Under instructions from a younger sibling, we visited Wakulla Springs State Park southeast of Tallahassee. Wakulla Springs is the largest freshwater spring in the United States, producing more fresh water on a good day than the city of New York consumes. A financier and brother-in-law of Alfred DuPont, Edward Ball, established it as a wildlife sanctuary and built an incredible lodge in the 1930s and it did not become a state park until the 1980s. It was the site of scenes in several motion pictures, including a couple of Tarzan movies, Airport 77, and that classic which will be remembered by my generation of pre-Boomers, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. The lodge features the longest marble-topped soda fountain in the world and interesting Mediterranean Revival architecture. They have guest rooms and a dining room open to the public where we had a delicious lunch. But this visit was a 'creature feature' in more ways than one. We took a boat ride on the Wakulla River, guided by a very knowledgeable ranger, on which sightings of a variety of birds, turtles, and alligators were so frequent, Disney couldn't have done a better job, and ending with the creek that was the home of the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
2 Comments
Harriet Hald
2/27/2015 01:17:02 am
That looks like a really neat place.
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Andy C.
2/28/2015 12:04:13 am
Great photos! The "drying wings on Cyprus knee" is so classic, so perfect. The cold blooded alligator lays exposed for the sun to warm it to digest food....so when we heard a huge fight?commotion? just off the vegetation tangle, we shuddered and said "lets get out of here"....a deep seated response to lagoon monster movies!!!! Combat denial.
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AuthorSome random thoughts about writing, camping, and eating. Archives
June 2024
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