Seeing Silver Springs

One of Florida's legendary tourist attractions is Silver Springs. "See Silver Springs" was on bumper stickers, billboards, and everything else that could carry a message in the mid-20th century. And the glass-bottom boats, whereby one saw the silver springs, were world famous, at least in Florida. Of course it was all eclipsed by Disney, as was everything else, declined, but finally was purchased by the state to become a state park, nature preserve, and historical site. Vicki visited it with her family when she was 10, and I am sure I was there with my mother and father on one of our "Florida" vacations in the 50s. It was an activity on Friday at Vicki's mini-reunion in Ocala, and we were there. Admission was a mere $2, the emphasis was on things natural and historical, and on the history of Florida tourism, and we were very glad we went.

Old-timey entrance preserved

And the glass-bottomed boats

Which take you perhaps a quarter mile down the river to see a
score of the springs and various wildlife and other features

Local bird, an anhinga

And now we are underway, marveling at the ultra-
clear spring water through the glass bottom

Tons of protected fish, turtles and other critters

The springs come up through the limestone, clearing out the 
sandy areas...some hundreds of millions of gallons from the Florida
aquifer

Remains of an ancient native American dug-out canoe; so it was
said

A number of movies were filmed at Silver Springs, most notably,
for me, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and its sequels, which
gave me nightmares as a child and probably explains my reluctance
to step into any body of water that is less than 3% chlorine; that, and
Jaws

Another anhinga, drying its wings

Among the many turtles, probably 15 inch-wide shells

Ashore, a member of our party, Janice, who visited us in Paris in 2014

And Cookie, now enjoying a post-career as a photographer

An alligator, not a small one, lurks nearby; alas, we did not see
any of the manatees

38 feet down, one of the larger springs

Gratuities left for the boat captain/guide, whose narration was nearly
as good as Disney's Jungle Cruise

Now we are promenading ashore, being enlightened
by the excellent signage

Statue of Osceola, leader of the unconquered Seminole
tribe

No swimming, currently, although the state has agreed
to restore a swimming area; people were kayaking and
paddle-boarding all over the river when we were there 

Artsy-fartsy shot of the springs and reflected clouds above

Love the old tourism posters

Exploring down one of the side creeks

Fooling around, as usual

Nice historical attention

Giant cypresses all over; nice place, we recommend
especially for the Florida nostalgia