Yesterday, we got the opportunity to see the Weeki Wachee Mermaids! Theirs is a rich and famous history, with some of the original mermaids swimming their way onto the silver screen to star in Creature from the Black Lagoon and Jaws! They even swam with Elvis!
Today, we headed to Silver Springs, where I Spy, Creature from the Black Lagoon, the original Tarzan films, Sea Hunt, Smokey and the Bandit 3, and many more were filmed!
This underwater crevice is, in fact, the creature’s lair from the Creature from the Black Lagoon!
Another Anhinga, this one drying itself out. Anhinga birds don’t have the natural oils to slick off water, so they have to dry themselves in the wind; otherwise, they’ll be too waterlogged to fly. A fun note: if you’re looking for the wind, look no further than the friendly Anhinga, who will always face the wind while drying!
The dock from Sea Hunt.
We also learned about the Seminole Indian/Native American tribes. This is local history at its finest. The Seminole tribes are the only Native Americans who have never signed a peace treaty with the U.S. Governement (and are thus, technically, still at war). This is due to the skill, leadership, and ability to read English of Osceola, a Creek tribe leader who migrated to Florida along with his followers to become the most famous Seminole (‘wild ones’) chieftain in history.
Depicted above is Osceola’s famous murdering of the US Treaty at Fort McCoy. This essentially started the Great Seminole war. The treaty that the Seminoles had been presented with would have seen them matching the Trail of Tears like the other tribes. Osceola’s ability to read English (being of both Creek and Dutch descent) allowed him to understand and inform his fellow chieftains what they would be signing.
While the above may appear to be a piece of driftwood or some such, it is actually a 500-600 year old Timucuan ceremonial canoe, made out of local cypress! It is 26 feet long, and happens to be the oldest dugout canoe in Florida! Apparently, the state had it dredged out of the river and taken to a local university for testing (that’s how all the above info was established). When the significance of the artifact was discovered, the university refused to relinquish it, stating that it should go to a museum! The state of Florida said “it already is in a museum” (aka the state park) and a legal battle ensued for several months until the canoe was returned to its original resting place.
Local artwork honoring the Timucuan and Seminoles. It’s a large slider turtle, it was impossible to get the whole thing in my shot.
Silver Springs is also home to the Mammoth Spring, which is the largest freshwater spring in the US. Also, both spring rivers we visited are 99.8% pure, so you could drink the water straight from the surface!
A final fun fact I learned today, Henry Ford originally put Spanish moss in the seats of the Model T as the cushion. Spanish Moss is the natural habitat of Chiggers, small flesh-burrowing bugs. The first ever recall in car history was Ford replacing the cushions of the Model T! Unbowed, Ford turned it into a slogan”People are itching to buy a Ford!”
Hope y’all enjoyed the pictures! More to follow!
By the look of it you are all having a great time. Thanks for your post l learned much from it. I wonder if your games need sirens to lure heroes to their doom?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about that specifically the entire time we were meandering through Weeki Wachee!
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