Last Saturday I had an invite from the Jacksonville Canoe and Kayak Club to join them for a paddle on the Oklawaha River. On the following map, the lake in the upper left corner is Oklawaha Lake. The straight line across the bottom of the lake is Rodman Dam. The heavy blue line on the other side of the dam is the Oklawaha River. We actually went on the skinny river on the left of the heavy blue line and made that big loop to where it joins up with the end of the heavy blue line. We made our way downstream toward the east (right) to Rte. 19. As a matter of fact, our take-out point was at the top of the Rte. 19 circular map marker. From the put-in to the take-out was 8.3 miles according to Tim Allen, host and the club president. The Oklawaha continues flowing eastward until it flows into the St. Johns River South of Welaka.  The green area south of the river is part of the Ocala National Forest. One of the couples in our group said that according to some literature they came across on the Oklawaha, it stated that a quiet paddler may even chance upon seeing a bear in the Ocala Forest area. That would be a sight to see. 

At the put-in. This is Tim and his girlfriend Kathy. They were in a canoe. Our hosts, Tim Allen and his wife Debbie were also in a canoe as were a father and son team, Dan and Dan. The other couple with us, Mike and Joyce each had single sit-on-top kayaks. I was in my tandem kayak that I had rigged as a single. So in total, we had three canoes and three kayaks among nine of us. 

This is Dan the father up front and Dan the son in the rear.

On the right is Debbie and the guy in brown is her husband Tim. In the back is Mike in red and his wife Joyce to his left. You can see a bit of their sit-on-tops between the two canoes. 

Heading downstream.

Dan and Dan.

Tim and Debbie.

Joyce and Mike in the kayaks with the canoes in the lead.

We came across this hawk. He flew into heavy brush but I was able to get this picture of him.

This was a pretty big log, easily three feet across in the hollowed out center.

A small bit of autumn color.

I wish I had a better photo of the clear water. Tim told us of the 25 or so trips he has made on this river, he has never seen the water this clear. He thinks it was because of the lack of rain we've had. I tried to stick my paddle in the water to touch the bottom but couldn't. It was easily 8 or 9 feet deep and crystal clear. We could plainly see everything on the bottom of the river. One of the canoe pairs saw a gator lying on the bottom. I saw a few schools of fish and an otter. 

Here you can get an idea of the water's clarity. It looks like Tim is floating on air. 

We saw 3 small gators, all in the 4 to 5 foot range. 

As we got to the lunch pull off, we all saw this bird high in the tree, way high. We all thought it was a great blue heron. It wasn't until I put on the telephoto lens that I saw it for what it was, an American bald eagle. And he was really, really big. 

Lunch.

I described this tree to Chuck Hubbuch, our campus horticulturist, and he told me this is a bald cypress tree. It's one of the few conifers that loses it 'leaves', hence its' name.  

At first sight, I thought the tree was covered in moss, but it wasn't. Its' greenery is just that thick. Chuck says he has planted a few of these trees on campus. I sure hope they grow up to be this beautiful. 

And here is the motley crew. Down in front, Mike and his wife Joyce. Behind them left to right is Dan the son and Dan the father. Then Debbie, Tim's wife, then Kathy and Tim, and behind them Tim and yours truly.

Down river a quarter mile or so from our lunch stop was this spot. It is an Indian burial mound. 

Mike in front of the tree covered mound.

Another of the gators we saw. His buddy dove before I got his picture.

This is a scenic river.

After we got to the take-out point, I decided to stay a while longer. I paddled another two miles or so. I checked out a side channel that was a no-go. I went over three trees in the water and gave up on the fourth one. 

So a fun day was had by all. I am considering joining the club. I know that Dot and I wouldn't go on all their outings since we really do like our alone time together. But now and then it is nice to have some company. I invited Charlie Bear to go with Dot and I to the Oklawaha this Saturday but he has to check with his daughter first. It doesn't matter. Dot and I plan on taking our two vehicles for a one way downstream paddle/float. Dot couldn't join me last weekend because her cousin from Australia was in town. So she definitely wants to make the trip this coming Saturday. 

P.S. 

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Email to Jack Woodward      mailto:  jackwoodward66@hotmail.com

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