SuPrBuGmAn
Contributor
The trip out to Rainbow Springs State Park started off midway through 5-21-10 and took longer than needed, since we decided to go check out Orange Grove, Peacock I, and Bonnett Springs. All of them looked great, infact, far better than I've seen previously(admittedly, I don't have alot of experience at PSSP). We still ended up at the campsite at Rainbow before nightfall. TheAwesomeFish got the tent up in no time, and I gathered wood and got the fire going. Campfire chilli dogs hit the spot.
On Saturday(5-22-10) we tubed down Rainbow River, alot of relaxing, and alot of snorkeling down a crystal clear spring fed river. We found several small springs and watched loads of fish, large bass, bream, aligator gar, and all sorts of turtle. After the tubing, we headed to the headsprings for a bit of swimming around. The swimming area is roped off with only a few small vents within reach, but just outside the ropes, you could see all sorts of very nice looking spring vents and sand boils.
Manatee Springs 5-23-10
After packing camp down and a little hike around the park, we started heading north towards home. We made a quick stop to check out Devils Den and Blue Grotto, then spotted a sign noting a Blue Spring which caught our attention. A quick trip up a sideroad and we landed at Levy Blue Springs County Park, which is open for swimming(not diving). It seemed kinda pretty, but was very busy, so we headed out. Our luck with the weather was turning, after a couple days of sunshine, we finally caught the rain... and the lightning. We managed to get out of one cell as we arrived at Manatee Springs State Park. After checking in we geared up at the parking lot and were happy to see no Manatees in the basin this time around(Manatees kept us out of the headspring last time we were here). We made a couple trips to the water to drop tanks, then finished gearing up. By this time, it was storming. We hit the water anyway, which was fine, because the weather scared everyone else out of the water and TheAwesomeFish and I had the basin to ourselves. The water was clear, visibility in the 50'+ range and the flow was quite evident out the headsprings cavern. Just near the entrance we found a large brown water snake sitting on a log on the bottom of the basin, just chillin. We decided at that point it'd be a good time to cruise down the run and molest freshwater sole, mullet, bass, bream, and lots of yellow eared turtles. We had fun with a big ole yellow eared slider that had a forest of algae growing off its back. Then swam back towards the basin. The snake had made its exitous so we practiced some line drills and goofed around a bit more. Eventually, a class hit the basin and things were getting crowded so we headed out after nearly an hour dive, with a max depth of 27'.
It was a great weekend, the dive was just the icing on the cake despite the weather turning. The trip back home was uneventfull, but fun. I couldn't have asked for better company.
On Saturday(5-22-10) we tubed down Rainbow River, alot of relaxing, and alot of snorkeling down a crystal clear spring fed river. We found several small springs and watched loads of fish, large bass, bream, aligator gar, and all sorts of turtle. After the tubing, we headed to the headsprings for a bit of swimming around. The swimming area is roped off with only a few small vents within reach, but just outside the ropes, you could see all sorts of very nice looking spring vents and sand boils.
Manatee Springs 5-23-10
After packing camp down and a little hike around the park, we started heading north towards home. We made a quick stop to check out Devils Den and Blue Grotto, then spotted a sign noting a Blue Spring which caught our attention. A quick trip up a sideroad and we landed at Levy Blue Springs County Park, which is open for swimming(not diving). It seemed kinda pretty, but was very busy, so we headed out. Our luck with the weather was turning, after a couple days of sunshine, we finally caught the rain... and the lightning. We managed to get out of one cell as we arrived at Manatee Springs State Park. After checking in we geared up at the parking lot and were happy to see no Manatees in the basin this time around(Manatees kept us out of the headspring last time we were here). We made a couple trips to the water to drop tanks, then finished gearing up. By this time, it was storming. We hit the water anyway, which was fine, because the weather scared everyone else out of the water and TheAwesomeFish and I had the basin to ourselves. The water was clear, visibility in the 50'+ range and the flow was quite evident out the headsprings cavern. Just near the entrance we found a large brown water snake sitting on a log on the bottom of the basin, just chillin. We decided at that point it'd be a good time to cruise down the run and molest freshwater sole, mullet, bass, bream, and lots of yellow eared turtles. We had fun with a big ole yellow eared slider that had a forest of algae growing off its back. Then swam back towards the basin. The snake had made its exitous so we practiced some line drills and goofed around a bit more. Eventually, a class hit the basin and things were getting crowded so we headed out after nearly an hour dive, with a max depth of 27'.
It was a great weekend, the dive was just the icing on the cake despite the weather turning. The trip back home was uneventfull, but fun. I couldn't have asked for better company.
We did not oblige.
