Poe Springs the Wild Florida You Should See

We have been meaning to go to Poe Springs all summer, but finally got there yesterday. Poe Springs, is located just across the Alachua County line, as you leave Gilchrist County, in High Springs. It is a very rural, and rustic spring. There are Park Rangers, and workers on staff. So, it isn't like you are just in the boonies with the wild all by yourself. There are no lifeguards however, so you have to be cognizant of that. Poe Springs is a natural spring, off the Santa Fe River. There are several springs right in this same stretch of river. The park is a county owned park, with gazebos, playground, tennis, hiking, swimming, and lots of extra picnic tables. The springs are down the boardwalk, a little walk from the play area. Keep that in mind if you decide to visit. We saw lots of turtles in the springs. DJ got a picture of one good sized one. The kids saw a gator in the river, but they don't come in the springs. They are pretty much always there. A snake passed by too, which kind of freaked me out, but he didn't want anything to do with us. Next week, we are visiting Blue Springs, just up the road from Poe. There are two Blue Springs. One in Levy County, which is not as nice, and one in Gilchrist County, that is beautiful. Stay tuned for pics from there next week. Public schools start back to school on Monday, but we have three more weeks off. Oh yeah!

Still Planning for Fifth Grade and Visit To Our Beautiful Springs

On Friday, both kids had sleepovers with friends. One was for a birthday party. So, my husband and I went out to dinner, with no children. OMG is that different, lol. Then yesterday, I met back up with the kids, at Fanning Springs State Park, for a get together with the kids who did not get to celebrate DJ's birthday with him. It was hot, and the water was beautiful. I am always leery of the springs this time of year. I have visions of crazy teens with loud music, and a lot of not nice language. But, none of that happened. It wasn't even that busy, and everyone had a blast. Our pool has bit the dust. We have had it for 7 years, and it just has worn out. I am not buying another pool. Instead I am going to buy a one year state park pass. Since the kids and I love to walk the trails, and see the wildlife, plus swim this will be perfect for us. Hopefully my husband will join in. I think next year, DJ and Craig are going to get scuba certified, then he will have to go in the springs, lol.


I am still trying to decide for fifth grade, with Caitlin. She wants Time4Learning, I am not that optimistic for it. I will let her do parts of it, like the Language Arts, History and Science. I think I still want to supplement though. She will do the Math games with me, she is doing well, and Life of Fred. So, I continue to look, read, and evaluate. She did really well with the Evan Moor books for History, two years ago. I might go back to them. I like things that were successful in the past.

Rum Island on the Santa Fe River Natural Springs

If you plan to visit Florida, then you need to visit the N Central part where there are tons of springs. The springs are 72 degrees all year, and there are hundreds of them. Some are very isolated, and I would not say safe for novice nature explorers or very small children. But most of them have camping via tent, or cabins, and are quite lovely. We were supposed to end up at Poe Springs today, which is in High Springs. They were closed, so we went ten miles down the road to a small park called Rum Island. I tried to find out why it got that name, but can not find anything online. The friends who went with us grew up here, and she might be able to tell me. It is isolated, and small, but so peaceful and beautiful. The swim area is small, and mostly pretty shallow, but it does get deep so you have to pay attention. The spring feeds into the Santa Fe River. I didn't think the kids would want to swim, so I brought no swimming apparel, but they got in in their clothes. It was almost 80 degrees, so they were not freezing when they got out. I will have to plan Poe Springs on a Friday next month, because that is when they are open this time of year. You can canoe and fish also. I won't go into detail about the geology of this area, because DJ is going to do a report on it, but it is truly fascinating.