My recent trek to Florida provided opportunities for me to
visit familiar place I've been to one or more times during my lifetime and to
find and explore new places and sites I'd never experienced before. This photo
of Silver Glen Springs in the Ocala National Forest in north central Florida is
actually a crossover. I had been to Ocala National Forest 49 years ago and
visited two of the four major fresh water springs, but I had not been to Silver
Glen Springs at that time. So, while retracing some of my past experiences, I
was able to add a new experience to the list.
As I said, there are four major springs with recreational
facilities located in Ocala National Forest. They are Alexander Springs,
Juniper Springs, Salt Springs and Silver Glen Springs. During my college days,
I met a gal who was a native of Daytona Beach and she became my "Beach
Babe" for three summers I went to Florida. The second summer, 49 years ago,
I took a couple buddies and she rounded up a couple of her girl friends and we
enjoyed two weeks of fun in the sun on the shores of Daytona Beach. She also
took us to Alexander Springs and Juniper Springs. I have fond memories from
that time and even some photographs stored away in my personal "time
capsule." In those earlier days the springs were all still pretty natural
and free and open to the public. Since that time, perhaps, fortunately, or
maybe not, the springs have been taken over by concessionaires who have, to a
fair degree, commercialized them.
My visits to Alexander Springs and Juniper Springs, the
sites of my youthful romp, were, while still quite beautiful, disappointing.
They didn't seem to resemble what my 49-year-old memories recalled. My first
time visit to Salt Springs was also disappointing and it was probably the most
commercialized. Please don't get me wrong. All three of these sites were quite
beautiful and I highly recommend everyone to visit them if you're in that area.
But, the natural, untouched beauty I recall had been changed. Okay, I know!
Everything changes constantly. I'm sure there are even parts of the Grand
Canyon that are different today than they were to someone who had visited them
50 years ago.
However, my visit to Silver Glen Springs was refreshing. Of
the four springs, Silver Glen was in the most natural state. It brought back
the familiar memories I had from my early visits to Alexander and Juniper. I
spoke with a member of the concession staff about why Silver Glen hadn't been
"improved" and he told me that the concessionaire had started to
improve the site for recreational use, but early into the planned changes human
remains were discovered on the grounds. This immediately put a stop, apparently
permanently, to further improvements. It appears that the Silver Glen area is
part of a sacred burial ground for an American Indian tribe. So, thankfully,
our government has enough respect for those people who inhabited this country
before the Europeans arrived to leave sites like this undisturbed.
You can see from the photo that the water is crystal clear,
the bottom is white sand and the temperature of the water is a constant 72
degrees. Even though Ocala National Forest is in the northern section of
Florida, it is still quite tropical as far as the foliage. Bears, boars, foxes,
alligators, deer, a wide variety of birds, snakes and lizards are among the
indigenous species of wild life that populate this area. And, of course, they
are protected. While I didn't cross paths with any alligators, snakes, bears or
boars, all of which can be dangerous to humans, I did see a number of lizards
and many species of birds. You can see by the sign that scuba diving is
prohibited, however, snorkeling is not. The actual springs where the water
reaches the surface from the underwater aquifers are usually quite large and
can easily be seen, although none in this photo.
I was here in February and there were very few people at any
of the springs in the winter. They are quite popular in the summer, however,
and you'd have to contend with a lot of people. I did see people swimming in
the springs and the water temperature didn't feel much different than the air
temperature. But, during the summer when the temperature might be 95 degrees,
diving into that 72-degree water is like jumping into a tub of ice water. I tell
you that from personal experience. If you're in Florida and in the area of
Ocala National Forest, I highly recommend setting some time aside to enjoy
these natural wonders, especially Silver Glen Springs.
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