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Saturday, April 16, 2011

Falling Creek Falls

 

Geocaching is still our favorite hobby.  We hadn’t done any in Florida so needed to get on that.  My goal is to geocache in each State that we stay in.  I think as more and more kids take up this hobby, the harder and harder the caches are to find.  I did manage to find a couple of them to hunt I thought these old bodies could handle.  This is also something that Rusty can do with us, so, off we went.

Our first one was at a small Park, Falling Creek Falls.  A really nice little park.  Very well maintained.  The first sign I saw was no dogs..  Darn!!!  This just doesn’t seem fair to me.  I guess a few people not keeping their dogs on leashes, and not picking up after them, ruins it for all of us.  So again, Donnie stayed in the truck with Rusty and I went on the hunt. 

I changed my mind and went back to the truck and told Donnie that this time we were going to take Rusty home and come back.  There was a beautiful boardwalk that ran into the woods.  I wanted Donnie to see this too.  He had missed out on the springs we have visited because of no dogs being allowed, and I didn’t want him to miss out on this.

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It was only around 10 miles back to the RV, so it didn’t take us very long.  I had packed us a lunch and thought we would eat lunch after our hike.

This park is located on County road 131 just north of the 441/I10 interchange.  Falling Creek Falls was opened October 2001.  A joint project between the Suwannee River Water Management District and Columbia County, the property was purchased from the Parker & Hogan Families to protect and preserve the Falls for present and future generations.   This park offers walking trails, restrooms, playground and the beautiful elevated Boardwalk to the Falls.

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Hope someone can tell me what those mushrooms/fungus are.  I have never seen anything like them.  They grow something like a Morel, but they aren’t.

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This was one of the prettiest areas I have seen since arriving here in Florida.  I could have walked up and down these boardwalks all day.  And the bonus is they really do lead you to a Falls.  This Falls is also locally known as the Coca Cola Falls.  You will see why when you see the colors of the Falls.

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The picture on the upper left is the best I could get of the magical colors of this pretty little Falls.  there was a Y in the boardwalk. The other way lead you to upper parts of the Falling Creek.

We did find our two geocaches and thought while we were so close to it we would go ahead and have a look around part of the Big Shoals Public Lands.  There wasn’t really much to it.  Just a kind of turn-around a bunch of hiking trails and picnic areas.  We again paid $4.00 for a day pass.  I took a couple of pictures and talked to the guy volunteering in this park, but he didn’t have much to say.  He did thank us for stopping by.  We ended up eating our lunch here and then headed on home to Rusty.  I hate that he wasn’t with us, but also like doing some things with Don so, we will just have to pick and choose better when taking him along.

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It was a fun day.  We have really enjoyed exploring northern Florida and highly recommend it to all.  Will write next on the road to home.

Want to thank Rick for mentioning Picnik a while back.  It is a part of Picasa, and until yesterday I hadn’t really paid much attention to it, but I finally clicked on it and was amazed at everything you can do with it.  Just for fun, I want to share a picture of the woods that I added some pink ribbons to in honor of my niece, Angie we lost over two years ago to breast cancer.  Thanks Rick for all the help you give us challenged bloggers.

forest-wallpaper-1

 

Later…. :)

12 comments:

Alan and Marilyn McMillan said...

BEAUTIFUL -- I want to go there too:) Be safe as you continue your trek homeward -- watch out for the weather!

Travels with Emma said...

Great park to visit except for the dog thing. I have no idea what the shrooms are.

Kenny And Angela's Adventure said...

Boy so many rules posted to get in a park.Goes to show you people just mess it up for others that visit.

It looks like a nice park.

¡Vizcacha! said...

Up until April 11 (Monday), I was RIGHT NEXT DOOR. Seriously. See the other side of the falls? That is my mother's property.

I can't believe you didn't even come over to see me.

Roxanne
The Good Luck Duck

Sam&Donna Weibel said...

It is the same at Lake Sherwood we we have the property, a couple of years ago they enacted a bunch of new rules. you ought to see the posts on the porch of the clubhouse,they are running out of room to put signs on them ,they go from the ground to the roof. No smoking, no bottles, no dogs, no having fun. The no dogs rule was the one that ticked me off, like you said somebody that just didn't care ruined for everyone,dogs are not allowed on the beach even on a leash or in the water. Rigg's lives for the water, he's a Lab. now I have to take him down to the Dam at the one boat launch on a long lead to let him swim, no where else that has public swimming are dogs allowed, fortunately they can still camp as long as you keep them on a lead. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Sue and Doug said...

darn no dogs rule!!. :(

Carol K said...

That looks like a very nice park and boardwalk. I like boardwalks--I like keeping my feet dry when I walk. Interesting falls, too! Sorry about the "no dogs" rule!

Unknown said...

I lost my uncle to breast cancer about 5 years. boy you guys seem to find ALL the NO dogs Jorge was just research geo's in the Rufus, OR area and there are only 2... Once the sun decides to stay out we plan on doing that whole adventure finding... I am sorry for your loss and sending a hug out to you...

Evielynne

Donna K said...

That looks like a beautiful area and I love the boardwalks. The falls are so colorful.

We too have encountered so many "no dogs" signs. But I can understand why. We took our dogs to the potty place here where we are staying and even though bags were provided, there were messes on the grass. Russ ended up policing the area as we didn't want others to think that our dogs had left the mess, and we didn't want to step in it. I love dogs, and I love to take my dogs with me. I just wish more dog owners would take the time to be responsible and not ruin it for the rest of us. Okay, end of rant!! So sad that Rusty couldn't go with you. I bet he would have loved it.

Rick said...

Beautiful park but no dogs, not so. Thanks for the mention and nice job on the pink ribbons for the trees.

Roadrunner said...

When my husband and daughter and her family went to the Keys, we had trouble finding a place to camp because of the NO DOGS rule. I found in general Florida is NOT a dog friendly state. Mass. isn't either!

Kevin Read said...

Looks like another beautiful park. It is a shame that Rusty couldn't go with you. The next time you decided to go somewhere for the day or just a visit, is to check out their website beforehand and see if dogs are allowed then you can make the decision to go there or not or if you need to leave Rusty behind. Just a thought.

Kevin and Ruth
www.travelwithkevinandruth.com