Day 17: Rainbow Springs to Falling Waters State Park

Today was a day of surprises.  The weather forecast had been for a full day of rain, which was all right as we were to be driving most of the day anyway.  And the rain did fall much of the night.  But by breakfast time, it had stopped and we were able to pack up and attach the car without getting wet.

We drove north on I-75 from Ocala past Gainesville, to where it connects with I-10.  Heading west along the Panhandle, we were surprised to see the sun come out, so that by the time we stopped for lunch at a rest area it was bright and in the upper 70's.

I thought it peculiar that the weather for Chipley, the closest town to this state park, still said 59 degrees.  As we progressed toward Alabama, the temperature dropped....and dropped...and dropped.  Here in our campsite at Falling Waters it's currently 57 and overcast, and judging from the puddles, it must have rained quite a bit earlier.

Another surprise:  I did not expect to be a campground that was hilly.  This is the Panhandle, after all.  However, the park is located on Falling Waters Hill, one of the highest hills in Florida, elevation 324 feet.  With the car still hooked up, we're a bit aslant in this site, but it's only for one night so we'll just deal with it.

Ranger and I left to check out the hiking trails while Dan relaxed.  This is indeed a very different environment from the ranches and horse farms we left behind this morning.

We followed a short trail down to the lake which has a swimming beach (but also a warning sign about the alligators).

From there, we followed a series of boardwalks that took you over swampy areas with sinkholes and finally to the waterfall for which the park is named.

Between the overcast skies and the change in time zone, it's already looking a bit dark at 4:00.  It looks like we'll have a quiet evening before proceeding to Mobile tomorrow to visit Kelly.