Florida Caverns State Park

During our planning for the ferry flight, Andrew and I picked a few spots along the return route that we wanted to see. Today we stopped at Florida Caverns State Park in Marianna, Florida.

When we arrived around 9:30, we were given a tour time of 12:00. At first, I was a bit disappointed about the wait, but it turned out to be perfect - it gave us just enough time to see the Blue Hole Spring, the Chipola River Sink, and hike the trails around the Visitor Center.

The Blue Hole Spring is a spring that is in a 34 foot deep hole. The park allows swimming, but we decided not to jump in. As we walked around the spring, we found a crazy collection of bugs along the shore.

Our next stop was the disappearing river. According to the sign:

Here the Chipola River flows underground through a cavern and reappears 1/4 mile to your left. This may be compared to a spring water enters the ground at a high elevation and reappears at a lower elevation. During high water part of the river continues to flow above the ground in a man made ditch once used to float logs down stream. Chipola means 'sweet' in the Choctaw Language.

After checking out the sink, we continued to the Visitor Center parking lot and started hiking the trails. Our biggest surprise was a cave tunnel, where the trail cut through a hill. The trail continued along the Chipola River floodplain and back to the Visitor Center.

The Visitor Center had exhibits describing the native cultures and the various animals living in the area. There was a desk at one end with bugs and snakes on display and kids were given a chance to get hands on with them. There was also a gift shop with snacks downstairs.

At 11:45, we headed down to the waiting area for our cavern tour. Our guide, Amanda, arrived and gave us a safety briefing and read us the rules. We walked a short distance to the cavern entrance and entered the cool, moist cave. See all the glorious photos below.

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		Florida Caverns State Park 2014 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Falling Waters State Park

During our planning for the ferry flight, Andrew and I picked a few spots along the return route that we wanted to see. Today we stopped at Falling Waters State Park in Chipley, Florida.

We started the day early by eating a large breakfast at the Quality Inn buffet, then drove down to the park. We were the first guests to arrive, and the ranger let us in for nothing. We were all excited to see Florida's tallest waterfall.

We parked at the end of the road and began our hike down the paved trail toward the falls. The trail split and became a boardwalk, taking us past huge sinkholes on both sides of the trail. I was concerned that we might get swallowed up by the next collapse!

The falls were about what we expected. The height of the falls is actually measured down into a deep sinkhole. After seeing the falls, we continued following the boardwalk and enjoyed the nice, relaxing walk in the woods, where only the sound of the falls, bugs, and woodpeckers disturbed the peaceful silence.

The falls can be seen in the photos below.

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		Falling Waters State Park 2014 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

USS Alabama

While passing through Mobile, Alabama, we stopped to tour the USS Battleship Alabama Memorial Park. The park includes the USS Alabama battleship, the USS Drum submarine, and a large collection of aircraft, guns, and tanks.

Years ago, Susan and I toured the park while I was working in Alabama. After our more recent tour of the USS Yorktown in Charleston, South Carolina, it was perfectly clear to us that we needed to take Andrew to see the USS Alabama.

We started the tour in the USS Alabama, then continued through the Aircraft Pavilion to the USS Drum.

Rather than describe the tour, I’ll let the pictures and captions tell the story.

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		USS Alabama 2014 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Vicksburg, Mississippi

After delivering our former airplane to its new owner, we stopped in Vicksburg to get a little history lesson. Our tour of the town started earlier with a long, slow 360 degree turn over the town in ‘57W. Now it was time for a closer look.

Our first stop was the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad Station, which is now a museum.

We didn’t have time to go inside, but we walked around outside. There was a huge hill nearby that Andrew was compelled to have me join him climb and run down. Then we all took the opportunity to stick a finger in the Mississippi River. Andrew thought it was a little chilly. It was certainly muddy. Andrew was thrilled when a barge went by and the wake caused an awesome set of waves to crest along the shoreline.

After walking around, we got back in the car and started following the scenic route signs around town. We didn’t take time to stop and read about everything we passed because we had to get going. Even so, we saw some fabulous old buildings and churches. It seemed that every other house was now a bed and breakfast.

Then we stopped at Riverside Park and walked through one of the historical parks. It had cannons and honored soldiers from Louisiana.

Our final stop was Vicksburg National Military Park. Unfortunately, it was already closed for the day. Looking online, this looks like a must see for a future trip.