After puttering around for awhile we finally got underway around 11:00. We decided today would be our “loop” exploring day. There are many oxbows in this part of the St. Johns River. The oxbows are the old river channels that still flow in spite of the fact that new, straighter channels have been dredged. There are many dredged cut-offs and most boats just take the direct route. However, the oxbow “loops” provide many picturesque places for exploring and anchoring. We decided we’d check all of them out today as we made our way south.
The first was River Forest. It was okay, but we thought our anchorage last night was better. Next on the chart was Happy Hill. Second Star was ahead of us, but shopped to photograph a huge gator that was swimming around the boat. We went on ahead and made our way out the other end – well, not quite out the other end. It seems the entrance was overgrown with hyacinths and other water plants and the channel had become extremely narrow. It was fairly deep so we thought we’d be okay and forged ahead. Oops, aground we went – the entrance had shoaled over and we couldn’t get out. Gerry tried 2 or 3 different angles, but nothing worked. We just kept stirring up mud. Second Star backed up to allow us room to turn around. There was one little area without plant growth and we were finally able to get turned around – took us about 30 minutes, but still better than having to call Tow Boat U.S.
The next area we thought about exploring was Hontoon Dead River. However, before going in we talked to some locals and they advised against it …. so we continued on. We went by Hontoon Island State Park where there are some inexpensive state-run docks. However, most are small and/or shallow. We’d have to stay on the t-bar at the end and both of those were full --- so once again we continued on.
The next oxbow was Starks Landing just off of Blue Springs State Park. We entered there and decided it was perfectly acceptable for tonight’s anchorage. Once we were settled in we went by dinghy to the state park. It was nice (bigger than Silver Glen Springs) but you couldn’t take a boat in. We beached the dinghy and walked through the park. Since it was the weekend, it was quite crowded. We stayed awhile, but soon returned to the anchorage where the guys tried fishing, but no luck.
Later in the evening after a wonderful dinner (Gerry’s opinion), we went back out in the dinghy awhile to try a bit more fishing. Unfortunately, met with the same luck as before. We watched a movie and then called it a night.
One of our "loops" for the day. This is going through the River Forest oxbow
It was the weekend and there was quite a bit of traffic -- more than we'd seen all week long -- combined
Second Star going through the open Whitehair Bridge
This is the Shady Oaks Restaurant -- we decided to pass it by as it didn't look very appealing
This part of the river has lots of houseboat rentals. Because of their shallow draft they are very popular river boats.
Here is Second Star leading the way into Happy Hill
Monk's Vineyard takes over the lead, but as we rounded the corner, we saw this narrow channel
A shot of Second Star following behind. All seemed a-okay at this point.
At this point, we had tried three times to exit the oxbow and return to the river -- no luck -- we kept running aground, so here we are very s-l-o-w-l-y turning around.
Second Star backed up to give us room to turn around and we both headed out the way we came in
Entering Starks Cutoff, where we anchored for the night
We took the dinghy and made a side trip to Blue Springs State Park
Another shot of the springs
Here's a bird "out on a limb"
One of the boardwalks through the park grounds
This is the Thursby House. This family was very instrumental in establishing Blue Springs, arriving in 1856.
As we returned to the anchorage, snapped a picture of Monk's Vineyard and Second Star. From the angle, we almost look like we're in the middle of the water plants.
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