Tag Archives: Dunnellon (FL)

2014/06/19 (R) Visitors

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We got to visit several times with John and Marian Hagan while we were in Florida this past winter.  They were members of our FMCA Freethinkers chapter until they decided to stop full-timing, bought a house in Dunnellon, Florida, put their motorhome up for sale, and did not renew their FMCA membership, which meant they could no longer be members of any FMCA chapters.  But we had established contact with them by the time all of that transpired and as Dunnellon was only 25 miles south of Williston, it was easy to meet up with them, which we did on several occasions.

John has a daughter who lives in Ypsilanti, Michigan and she has twin 4-year olds, so he and Marian had indicated that they would be visiting them sometime in June.  I e-mailed John as soon as we got back from the GLAMARAMA rally to check on their status and found out that they had arrived in Michigan about the time we left for the rally.  They were planning on staying for several more weeks, but we invited them to come to our house for dinner and a visit as soon as mutually possible.  That turned out to be today!

We had cloudy skies leftover from the storms of the day before but no additional rain.  John and Marian arrived mid-afternoon and stayed until almost 9 PM.  We had a good, wide-ranging chat and enjoyed a nice meal of mixed greens salad, lentil loaf, baked potatoes, and roasted asparagus.  We had the Franzia Sweet Red wine with dinner and capped off the meal with fresh strawberries, Lotus Biscoff cookies (the same ones they serve on the airliners), and our Sweet Seattle Dreams 1/2 caff custom coffee blend from Teeko’s in Howell.

Since John and Marian are in the area for an extended period of time, they have been visiting a lot of local attractions, especially things connected with the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  We all agreed that we would get together at least one more time while they are here, perhaps meeting them in the Ann Arbor / Ypsilanti area and dining at a local restaurant.

 

2014/04/02 (W) Weeki Wachee

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Today was probably our last visit to a Florida State Park in this part of Florida.  In this case “this part of” refers to north central and southwest to the Suncoast.  Our destination was Weeki Wachee Springs SP.  WWSSP is another one of those FSP gems where the state park system took over a former “old Florida” roadside attraction.  We were glad they did because otherwise this iconic old Florida attraction would no longer exist.  The New York Times ran an excellent article on Weeki Wachee about a year ago.  Most of the photos from today are in a separate gallery post.

Peakcock with tail fanned.

Peakcock with tail fanned.

We left WCRVR around 9 AM and headed towards Dunnellon to pick up John and Marian Hagan.  We arrived around 9:40 having been delayed a few minutes by road construction that had traffic down to one lane on US-41.  We got everyone on board and were on our way quickly.  The park is located on US-19 just west of where FL-50 (Cortez Blvd) ends and it took an hour to get there.  We arrived at WWSSP a little before 11 AM, but not in time to see the 11 AM Mermaid show.  Mermaids?  Oh yes; mermaids are the reason to go to Weeki Wachee Springs SP.

Linda, Marian, & John at the entrance to WWSSP.

Linda, Marian, & John at the entrance to WWSSP.

Weeki Wachee Spring is a Class 1 spring issuing over 100,000,000 gallons of fresh water every 24 hours to create the Weeki Wachee River that meanders a mere 12 miles to the Gulf of Mexico.  The water is 99.8% pure, and technically it safe to scoop it up out of the river (near the source, anyway) and drink it without any treatment.

Weeki Wachee is a large, deep spring; amazingly clear with beautiful shades of green and blue in the bright sunshine.  The name cones from earlier Native American words meaning “large spring.”  Go figure.  In the 1940’s a former Navy frogman bought the property and created the underwater viewing theater on the west side of the spring.  He also invented the air hose underwater breathing technique that has allowed young women (and some men) to perform the underwater mermaid shows ever since.  On our visit they were doing two different shows: Fish Tales (a historical retrospective), and The Little Mermaid (adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson tale).  Campy?  Of course.  Delightful?  Absolutely.

Weeki Wachee SP is small at only 528 acres, but we managed to make a nice, relaxing day of it.  Admission is $13 for adults and our FSP Annual Pass was only good for admitting two people.  The other major attraction is the Buccaneer Bay water park.  It was open but the water slides were not operating.  This time of year the slides are only open on weekends.  They are open every day during the summer season.  We were surprised by how many people were here on a Wednesday in early April, swimming, sunning, walking the grounds, and enjoying the shows.

We went to the animal show at noon.  The young man who did the show was very entertaining but also provided important information about the snakes, turtles, and small alligator he showed us.  He kept the 18″ long alligator out after the show for people to touch and photograph.  The park also has a resident population of pea fowl that roam the grounds freely.  We encountered them numerous times and I took quite a few photographs.  Several of the peacocks were fanning the tails and they were very impressive.

The park service operates a pair of pontoon boats that take visitors on a 25 minute round trip on the upper part of the river.  There is almost no development on this stretch of the River and we saw turtles, an Anhinga drying its wings, and a Bald Eagle nest with an immature eagle in it.

The park operates several concession stands and we patronized one for a light lunch.  They also have a gift shop.  The park is open from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM.  We left at 5 PM feeling that we had gotten value for our entrance fee.

From the park we headed east on FL-50 / Cortez Blvd to Buffet City.  We had been to this Chinese buffet once before with Al Hesselbart and thought the variety and quality of food was sufficient to make the $11 per person cost reasonable for us.  All four of us got our monies worth.

We headed back to Dunnellon by way of the northbound Suncoast Parkway (FL-589 Tollroad).  The Parkway ends at US-19 south of Homosassa.  From there we reversed our route from the morning, taking US-19 back to Crystal River and then taking the road that runs northeast back to US-41 in Dunnellon.  We stopped at the Hagan’s house for some coffee and conversation.  Marian had taken a few photos of us at the park and John transferred them to a DVD.

We arrived back at our coach around 9:30 PM and were greeted by our two cats who demanded our undivided attention for a while.  A small serving of coconut milk “ice cream” put the finishing touch on a long but very satisfying day.

 

2014/01/15 (W) Rainbow Springs SP (FL)

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Today was a 2-fer day.  Actually, it was a Wednesday, but we got two things done in one trip.

Seminole Falls info.

Seminole Falls info.

Thing one was a trip to Rainbow Springs SP in Dunnellon, Florida.  Located on US-41 just north of Dunnellon, Rainbow Springs was privately owned and opened in 1937 as a major tourist attraction.  The natural springs were “enhanced” with a constructed landscape of streams and waterfalls surrounded by vast gardens.  There were walkways, buildings, a “submarine”, a surface ship, a zoo, a netted bird area, an aerial tram, and a horse arena.  There were also cabins that predated the 1937 attraction.

Seminole “Falls.”

Seminole “Falls.”

 

The Rainbow Springs attraction changed ownership several times over the years and was owned by S&H Green Stamps and Holiday Inn along the way.  The opening of I-75 led to the demise of the attraction and it closed to the public in 1974.  (The opening of Walt Disney World probably didn’t help.)  It fell into serious disrepair until purchased in 1990 by the State of Florida and added to the Florida State Parks system.

 

 

 

Alligator warning (although none seen recently here).

Alligator warning (although none seen recently here).

 

All of the attractions are gone, of course, but much of the infrastructure remains, especially the water features and walkways.  The stables / horse arena is now a butterfly garden and the Park Service, along with the Friends of Rainbow Springs (FORS) is removing invasive plant species and replacing them with native pants.  There are actual (unpaved) hiking trails and a modern campground in a different part of the park.  We caught a brief glimpse of a Whitetail Deer while hiking the yellow trail.

Part of the Rainbow Springs headwaters area.

Part of the Rainbow Springs headwaters area.

 

Thing two was a chance to visit with another couple from our FMCA Freethinkers Chapter.  I had been corresponding with various people in advance of our trip to Florida, and John Hagan had indicated back in October that lived reasonably close to where we would be staying.  I checked back through my information, and it turned out that “reasonably close” meant “in Dunnellon.”  In fact, they lived about one mile south of the entrance to Rainbow Springs SP.  We called, they were home, and we stopped by to visit.

 

 

An Egret on the hunt at Rainbow Springs SP (FL).

An Egret on the hunt at Rainbow Springs SP (FL).

 

John and Marian had only moved in to this house this past April after six years as full-time RVers and are selling their motorhome.  They are still new enough to this part of Florida that they have not had a chance to explore much of it.  We agreed to make plans to take them along on some “explores” such as the Crystal River and Homosassa Springs areas which lie just to the SW of Dunnellon.  We also invited them to drive up to Williston to see the bus and the resort and have dinner.