It's Always Sunny in High Springs: "A Day on the Santa Fe"

Living in High Springs, the Santa Fe is a place for fun in the sun. You can boat, canoe, tube, dive, swim, fish, or anything else your heart desires. The Santa Fe river is 75 miles long and flows into the great Suwanee River. The coolest thing about the river is that it sinks and flows underground for about 3 miles and then surfaces again.

One afternoon, my husband and I were lucky enough to snag a babysitter. We didn't have much money to go out to dinner and a movie or hit a local bar, but with $20 we were able to spend a day on the Santa Fe river. We bought a 12 pack of budget beer at the local S&S station and borrowed our neighbor's john boat. We put $12 worth of gas in it and headed out to the Santa Fe River.

We launched the boat off of the boat ramp on US 27. It was a beautiful day. The sun shining and a perfect breeze on the water made for an excellent day to spend outdoors. After loading ourselves (the dog included) and the beer we headed out. Around the first bend we were enchanted with a piece of yesteryear, an old train trestle bridge. The train tracks don't run along it anymore, but the pillars are still erect and rising from the water.

The river was quite shallow that day and we realized just how shallow it was when our boat stopped moving and the dog went flying over the hull of the boat into the river itself. No one was hurt, but it turned out to be pretty funny. We lifted the boat over the shallow spot and kept cruising. There's not much along the Santa Fe, just nature, homes, and a few fresh water springs along the way. The homes range from single-wides on stilts to magnificent mansions along the river. They are all so interesting to look at while cruising down the river. Once we hit another shallow spot we decided to turn around.

We later found out that we should have launched the boat a little further down the river at Rum Island's boat ramp. It's a much more deep part of the river. It's right before you hit Blue Springs and Ginnie Springs. After we turned around we headed the opposite way from the boat ramp. On approaching O'Leno State Park territory, we noticed a family fishing and then noticed another shallow spot. We were deadlocked, but that was no problem. The kids were in good hands and we just wanted some relaxing time together. So we cut the engine and just drifted along. Suddenly, we see our dog perk to attention. We glance in the general vicinity that he's staring and spot a deer in midday crossing the river in the shallow spot, from one side to the other. It stopped right in the middle to take a sip of water. It's always so majestic to see wildlife so undisturbed and natural in its habitat. We just sat back and watched as it joined its family of about 5 other deer on the opposite side of the river.

After floating a while and admiring the sights, we took our paddle and turned the boat around. Still drifting, we spotted a snake bird dive down from the tallest branch of one of the trees and submerge into the watery depths. We kept watching seeing when he was going to poke his head up. It took quite a while and we were wondering if he ever will come back up. He eventually did, but just his head did to where it really looked like a snake. Our dog, Blue, seemed to enjoy watching it.

It was so quiet on the river. We were just enjoying our peaceful quiet, kid-free day. We didn't say much to each other, just pointing out something here or there, but I know we were feeling the same thing, complete relaxation and contentment. We would have stayed all day in that deadlocked part of the river, just admiring the sights and sounds of the beautiful Santa Fe river, but it was time to head back to reality, but we will never forget our Day on the Santa Fe, and can't wait until we can do it again.