Blue Springs State Park–Orange City Florida

Friday Mom and I drove to Blue Spring State Park for a four night stay.  Blue Springs is a magical place with squirrels that make a odd noise to manatees that hang out at the springs.  I have never seen a manatee before and I was not quite prepared for what  I saw when I peered over the rail.  They are huge, some were covered with algae much to the delight of the catfish, and they were so graceful.  Sadly all of the adults were covered in scars from boats that hit them.  According to the Blue Spring State Park’s webpage “Blue Spring State Park covers more than 2,600 acres, including the largest spring on the St. Johns River. Blue Spring is a designated Manatee Refuge and the winter home to a growing population of West Indian Manatees.”  This is by far the neatest thing mom and I have seen in a long time.
 
As far as the squirrels are concerned…. they are nuts!  I feel strongly they are part of the anti tourist group that is cropping up in the touristy areas all over the US.  Their mission is to drive out tourist and keep their area “native.”  The squirrels at this park make the weirdest noise.  When I first heard it I thought the poor thing was choking on its nut. I stood there watching the squirrel wondering if I needed to perform a Heimlich maneuver on him.  I also noticed a couple strolling hand in hand on the boardwalk walking towards me but my attention was on the poor squirrel.  Then it leaped off the railing and straight at the couple.  The girl shriek, the man flapped his arms and it ricocheted off her arm and onto the ground where it started making that noise again.  All three of us just stood there, looking at each other, and then the nervous laughing began.  After that episode I started paying attention to the squirrels on my walk.  If I heard that nut choking sound I know to run like the bats of hades are at  my heel or should I say squirrels of hades.  The park ranger gave me an instruction manual on what to do if I met a bear, they need to hand out instruction manuals on what to do if you encounter a squirrel.

Enjoy the pictures!