Pat’s Wildways: Wakulla Springs

If you are looking for a fun place to spend the night on a Florida mini-road trip, check out The Lodge in the Wakulla Springs State Park. Although you can use Interstate 10 and get there in about three and a half hours, why do that when you can experience the back roads of North Florida instead? What’s another half hour? No problem. And if you take the route through Lake City and get there at meal time, be sure to visit the Marion Street Bistro if you want the freshest seafood, Wagyu beef, local hydroponic greens and tomatoes, and lots of tasty side dishes in a building with a history leading back to days as a speakeasy frequented by Al Capone. There are lots of other old Florida sights on the backroads — farms, small Florida towns, blooming wildflowers, well worth admiring along the way.

But the main attraction is Wakulla Springs State Park itself. This park is set in a wild part of Florida just south of Tallahassee, where forests, sinkholes and natural springs abound. Wakulla Springs is said to be one of the largest and deepest freshwater springs in the world, with a vast underwater cave system and a discharge of more than 800,000 gallons of water a minute into the Wakulla River. There is a dedicated swimming area at the springs, which is always 70 degrees year-round — great on hot summer days, but in winter, not so much. The real attraction of this park is the mature cypress swamp and associated vegetation that surrounds the spring, and the 45-minute pontoon boat tour that is available to experience it. If you want to be sure to see alligators, this is the tour for you. And there are plenty of visitor-acclimated birds, turtles, snakes and other wildlife that calmly watch the boat passing by.

On a recent trip to Wakulla Springs with my brother, Ken, we saw it all. I was delighted to spot the first swallow-tailed kites of the season in North Florida, a few manatees were hanging around, and ibis, egrets, anhingas, hawks and lots of alligators and turtles populated the shores during the boat tour. A key part of the history of Wakulla Springs is the old movies filmed there, including the 1954 hit "Creature from the Black Lagoon." It turns out I have a connection to the "Creature.” Before Bucko partnered with me, in the early 1970s he dated “the Creature’s daughter,” Renee, whose father Ricou Browning had an intimidating hallway display of the creature costume he wore during underwater scenes. “Be sure to take good care of my daughter,” this display seemed to tell Bucko.

The 1930s-era lodge itself is a charming place to spend some time admiring the 16-foot-high cypress ceiling painted with wildlife scenes, the Art Deco elevator and staircases, and the “longest marble bar” in the world that now functions as an ice cream counter. There is a constantly running film loop with "Creature from the Black Lagoon" always playing, surrounded by comfortable leather chairs to relax in. And the restaurant at the lodge serves good, moderately priced food and the best fried chicken ever.

After dinner at the lodge I stepped outside to soak in the scenery. The red and white azaleas were in full bloom and just beyond the lodge lights, the stars shone vividly through the treetops. I walked further into the woods and then I saw them. Fireflies! These magical little insects lit up my childhood in New Jersey but they have largely disappeared from my world. Pesticides, light pollution and development has taken a toll on these once-abundant insects. But here they were in this park!

I became a child again, there alone in the night woods. I watched them glitter in the tree tops, forming a backdrop to the bright stars. I remembered my childhood days catching them and putting them in a jar, but these were too high for me to catch. But wait, there is one close to the ground! I located it using my phone flashlight and finally grabbed it. I went back to the lodge with a handful of leaves and this bug, procured a clear plastic cup from the dining room and brought it up to our room, where it glowed occasionally, a long-lost memory revisited again. The next morning, I set it free again; its purpose for me was fulfilled. And another Florida day began.

Pat Foster-Turley, Ph.D., is a zoologist on Amelia Island. She welcomes your nature questions and observations. patandbucko@yahoo.com