April 22, Day 301 – Murphy Creek to Lake George (Silver Glen Springs)

This morning Gerry tried his luck at fishing and, in spite of the fact the fish were jumping everywhere, he caught nothing. However, the morning did prove good for alligator watching. There was a big guy that kept swimming between Monk’s Vineyard and Second Star – quite entertaining.

Initially we had planned to stay at Murphy Creek for 2 days but we decided to press on to Lake George. We wanted to see Silver Glen Springs but knew we’d have to anchor in Lake George as the entrance to the springs was too shallow for our boats. A check of the weather showed it would be best Thursday night for an anchorage in the lake.

We headed out just before 10:00, slowly making our way around the Murphy Creek loop and back out into the St. Johns. We passed through Welaka and Georgetown and then into Lake George. It was a beautiful cruise with perfect weather. We got as close as we could to the shore, but as the depth dropped to less than 5 feet, we decided we better drop the anchor. There is really no protection here from wind or wave action, but we’re pretty much out of the way of other boat traffic.

After settling in we jumped in the dinghy and headed into Silver Glen Springs. There were a few smaller boats heading in so we followed them as the entrance was a bit tricky. Silver Glen Springs is a very popular place with crystal clear springs and lots of wildlife. There is also wildlife of the “people” variety. The guidebooks indicate it is a great place for people watching, especially on the weekends.

Back at the boat, we decided to just hang out and relax and then go back to the springs in the morning. We had a beautiful sunset, but the wind picked up some and it was a bit bouncy. However, by bedtime it had settled down to just a gentle rock and the temperature had cooled – perfect sleeping weather.

Morning in the anchorage

We had a lazy alligator swimming about

Getting underway -- Second Star heading out of the anchorage

We passed by a small housing development. You could just barely see the homes through the trees.

We approached the Buffalo Bluff RR Bridge. It is supposedly open unless a train is coming. It was closed even though we saw no train. However, as we approached, it opened without even calling them.

This is the entrance to the never completed Cross-Florida Barge Canal. The channel leads to a lock which flows into Lake Oklawaha. During the Roosevelt administration money was appropriated to build a trans-Florida waterway from the St. Johns River to the Gulf Coast. Work slowly continued off and on until the 1960's. However because of envirnomental difficulties obtaining rights-of-way, the project was permanently halted by President Nixon.

Along the waterway -- this looks like a nice fishing hole

We passed Welaka and checked out the city docks in case we want to stop on the way back

We saw some fishermen. Not sure what they were trying to catch, but it looked like they were having about as much luck as Gerry -- none.

We saw some nice old homes along the river -- here's one of them

This was quite the unusual looking boat. According to one of the guide books it's a 100-ft 1924 Matthews motoryacht. The hull was covered with white cement and the owners lived on board for over 15 years. It now appears to have been abandoned.

Second Star cruising on Lake George

A shot of the 2 boats taken from the entrance to Silver Glen Springs. We were anchored about 3/4 of a mile away.

Approaching the channel leading to Silver Glen Springs

Here's the sign explaining a little bit about the area

The water was very clear once you were in the channel -- here you can see the grass on the bottom

Motoring slowly through this area you couldn't help but think jungle and Tarzan. As a matter of fact, the original Tarzan movie was filmed in the Lake George area and the offspring of the monkeys that were brought in for the movie can occasionally be spotted here.

More of the foliage along the creek

The water was clear and warm

Michael and Jana slowly making their way to the spring

Trees and grasses at the beginning of the channel

A tiny island in the middle of the channel

Approaching the entrance channel to Silver Glen (at this point we were leaving, so guess you'd call it the exit channel). We understand that on weekends, boats are anchored even this far from the actual spring which is about 1/2 mile away.

There was a tree in full bloom at the entrance

On our way back to the boat, we watched some bow and arrow fishermen. Quite entertaining. If you double click this picture to enlarge, you'll see one of them has a fish on his arrow.

We saw lots of birds -- here's a cormorant. We're hoping to see one of the elusive Limpkins that are in the area, but so far, no luck.

Back at the boat, we enjoyed a nice sunset. Here's Second Star at anchor.