Faver-Dykes Fun

This WAS the "OFFICIAL" park signage...  Not as nice as all the others...

After Tomoka, we pulled into Faver-Dykes State Park.  This has another interesting ranger situation, similar to the one we experienced in the beginning of our trip, in Kissimmee Prairie Preserve.  There is only one on duty, (The Lone Ranger) and he/she must do all things, so after you’ve driven down a very long and winding path to the station, there is a pretty good chance the camping check in at the ranger station will involve you filling out paper work and submitting your payment (if you haven’t already paid via Reserve America) in an envelope and they will come in the middle of the night and put your receipt and park stickers on your vehicle, like the reservation fairy.  That is what happened to us.  The other thing the ranger does is rent our canoes and kayaks.  You have to keep an eagle eye out for the ranger and let her/him know that you wish to rent one and they will meet you back at the ranger station.  It’s a really reasonable price too… $5 per hour, $25 per day.  You go out on Pellicer Creek, which is a designated state canoe trail.  If you're lucky, you'll see river otters.  We weren't, but we had a lovely day out on the creek.

What "checking in" might look like.

A day out on the open water with my love

It's always good to get a little river mud in your toes.

The view from our lunch

Our lunch spot

Our lunch spot showed up like Brigadoon in the water....

View from the front of the canoe

I was wondering why the paddling was feeling more strenuous

I'm glad SOMEONE was having a nice time!!

We paddled for 2.5 hours...and this was the BEST sight all day....WHEW!

The park describes itself as “unhurried, quiet, peaceful and relaxing”.  It is.  It is removed from civilization enough to be just that.  When we first pulled in, I was slightly upset we had 9 whole days here…. It wasn’t the beach, and at first glance, didn’t seem to have things that would catch and hold my interest, but I was wrong.  It grew on me, to the point where, I’d go back again.  We got a lot accomplished here as well.  Took the RV to be re-roofed, had a disastrous oil change at Wal-Mart (they never put the oil cap back on and oil boiled out EVERYWHERE.  What a mess…but we got our money back, as well as the cost of cleaning supplies to take care of the stains on our new clothes, so, we didn’t (fortunately) lose on the deal.  Stains are gone from clothes, and car is still running.  Rudy went to the vet…not because he was sick, but because he needed flea/tick/heart worm medication to protect our baby.  Got them and now he can walk outside safely once again…and I paid a fortune to “Barb’s Laundromat” to do my laundry…but got it all washed and ready for the next adventure.  

This was a 9 day stay, and that’s long for us this summer…. Our usual stay is 4, sometimes, 3…depending on the place’s availability and our need move on or to get back home.  My husband says that we were there so long that even the mosquitoes remember us.  I think the ticks might remember me more…since there were so many of them.  Every day I’d find one or two on me…and they come in two sizes…Holy Crap and Tiny.  I was lucky.  My nemesis (the tick) never actually settled in for a nice meal.  Just took a leisurely stroll on me…here and there.  Perhaps a mixture of my essential oils and my prescription medications makes my blood taste yucky.  Vincent on the other hand…between his blood thinners and his normal sweet tasting self, the mosquitoes there thought of him like an all you can eat café.  Ah, yes, at Chez Vincent, where the blood flows smooth and fast all the time.  I think I saw one mosquito explode from over indulgence.  I’m amazed he didn’t pick up a tick.  So, it’s summer…and with that comes the bugs.  I’d recommend this place in cooler weather, when blood thirsty animals aren’t so prevalent.  There are deer, bobcat, usual woodland creatures, and if you are a birder, this is birding heaven.  There are over 100 species of birds here, and they are surprisingly friendly.  They will come and check YOU out with little bird binoculars.  OK, maybe not that, but I was able to sit at my site's picnic table and see 15 different species without even trying.

How squirrels keep cool...find shade, stretch out in it.

My view from the bedroom window each morning

On the banks of Pellicer Creek

Mammatous clouds before a storm

We saw deer every day.  There was even deer on the nature trail

The deer also saw US.

Someone was not fond of us

Oh, hello.

OH!  Goodbye!

"I guess you're all wondering why I gathered you here today...."

Another white tailed deer.

There is a nice, easy to walk nature trail there, in addition to the canoe/kayak rentals.  Don’t count on TV or satellite TV; bring your nature loving, or fishing self to this park.  Faver-Dykes is a park named after the couple who donated the land to the park service of Florida.  From Faver-Dykes you can go to see some other, really beautiful places.  Two of them are gardens.  Washington Oaks gardens, that is right nearby, and Ravine Gardens in Palatka, FL.  Both of them are luxurious and beautiful as far as gardens go.  We saw them in summer, when only the summer blooming things were out, but in April, when the azaleas are out, I’ll bet it is breathtaking.  Worth the trip, no matter what time of year.  The other state park we visited while here was one named Dunns Creek State Park.  

The first park we visited from where we were staying was Ravine Gardens, in Palatka.  It was a bit of a drive to get to, but worth it.  It has very large, well situated covered picnic pavilions, beautiful gardens, and you can either walk or drive to see all the park has to offer.  I did some of the walking in the woods, and Vincent and I drove the 1.8 mile driving loop there is that takes you to the bottom of the ravine.  This is the park that chose the theme of azaleas as its number one planting.  In April they bloom.  Judging by what I saw, there are a lot of varied types of azaleas and a large amount of them.  I’d love to see it in bloom one day.  This park’s azaleas were also the kickoff to the “Miss Azalea” pageant.  The first Miss Azalea also became Miss America that year.  There is a beautiful, natural amphitheater within the park where the contest used to be held. The park was built back during the depression as one of FDR’s federal WPA projects to put American’s back to work.  What a gorgeous testament to the good our government can do for its citizens.  Not only did it give people a job, but it gave to generations to come, the joy and satisfaction of seeing something so beautiful.  The ravine itself is forged from water flowing through sandy soil from the St. Johns River.  It’s tucked away on Twigg Street; you’d never know it was there, today, without someone telling you.  Much of its former splendor still exists today.  Don’t miss the gardens dedicated to the United States of America.  Each post has a name plate of a state on it with facts and figures about it, plus a monument that looks like a miniature Washington Monument.  This is a lovely day use park.

 

The next park we went to was Dunns Creek.  There is a 1.4 mile walk to Blue Lake within the park.  I would like to have made the trek and seen the lake, but the bugs here were not just a nuisance, they were positively prohibitive.  I went in about .4 mile and when I stopped to look more closely at something, not only had my body inundated by mosquitoes, but 3 horseflies flew into my mouth AT THE SAME TIME!  That was enough for me.  I high tailed it back to the car.  In photographs I’ve seen, it looks lovely.  But taking the photos myself, nope…bug heaven wouldn’t permit that…and I was wearing all kinds of repellant….sprays, lotions and the fan thing you wear.  Not one of them worked.  I was toast, and I didn’t like it.  So, I can say, what I did see looked nice…but I never got to see the big reward for the walk, the lake.  This park was also hard to find.  It doesn’t have a street address…just the street…so you kind of have to do some creative driving to get there.  It is GREAT for equestrian folks...The trails are well suited for riding on horseback, which is permitted here.  There is no boat landing for paddling within the park, but just outside of the park, there are opportunities to put in a canoe, kayak or boat if you have your own.

This is the shot I was taking of some big, bad ass ants when the horseflies flew in my mouth and I ran back to the car.

Lastly, there is Washington Oaks Gardens, another beautiful jewel in the park system.  It is filled with many gorgeous old growth live oaks that reach out and beckon you to come closer and inspect them.  See the resurrection ferns, lichens and other wildlife that they enfold lovingly in their branches.  Each one of these majestic trees looks like the tree of life.  Beyond the parking lot and the trees that stand as park sentinels, are the gardens that meander through a marine environment.  Paths that lead to secret rose gardens or coy ponds with pagodas and benches are there for your enjoyment.  There is a lovely park concession store, which sells a wide variety of reasonably priced souvenirs and garden materials.  They also have a nursery that you can buy plants from that will assist you in creating a pristine and placid garden of your own in your yard.  Friendly people own and operate the shop.  When you've completed your magical journey through the garden, you're trip isn't really over, because there is an across the street part of it that is on the ocean...a beautiful beach, with practically no one using it.  Gorgeous....but don't take my word for it....

The best thing I can tell you is to get out there and enjoy your state parks.  They are so varied and so beautiful, and of course, like anything that wonderful in today’s world, they need your support.  Protect them by visiting one, today.  Until next time…. May you have that “sand between your toes” kind of feeling all day.