On the Silver River

With the Manatees

Apr 01, 2025

I haven’t posted in a month because I haven’t been inspired enough to put my thoughts into words. For fear of repeating myself with the same tropes, I wanted to wait until something moved me enough to write. Saturday was that day. We’d been in Silver Springs Florida for six days when inspiration came to me in the form of four beautiful creatures of the sea.

The big feature at Silver Springs is the Silver river. Water bubbling up from underground aquifers create these beautiful crystal clear rivers throughout the inland parts of the State. The Silver flows into the Okwalaha that flows into the St. Johns that empties into the Atlantic Ocean near Jacksonville. It’s only about 10 miles long. It meanders through the Ocala National Forest so there’s no development anywhere along the river. Although you can hear vehicle traffic at times from roads that are less than a mile away, the sounds of wildlife predominate as you float down the river. An oasis near the city. The adjacent town of Ocala, which used to be a sleepy little burb back when I was in college in the late 70’s and early 80’s, is now a bustling city of over 70,000. This is horse country too and the World Equestrian Center is here.

Silver Springs State Park has many wonderful features. The campground here is one of the best we’ve stayed at. The sites are spacious and there are towering pines, some as high as 50 feet or more throughout. The park, only a few miles from the campground is famous for its glass bottom boats which have been on the river in some fashion for over 100 years. Most folks choose this option for being on the river. For those of us, ourselves included, we're still fit enough to get into a kayak and paddle down the river. Although, I must confess, you’re going “down” river so the paddling is not very vigorous. You could actually let the current take you and not paddle at all if you have all day.

I took my first trip down the river on day two and saw all the wildlife that the area has to offer. First it was wild monkeys, brought here in the 1940’s my a man who thought they would be a great tourist attraction. He put them on a little island where he believed they would stay. Little did he know that these monkeys could swim. So they launched themselves into the Silver River. Free to roam, they spread out through the area where they proliferate to this day, estimates are in the thousands. There are birds and turtles, fish and alligators. And of course, the beloved manatees. They all perch, fly and swim along and in the river.

On my second float on day six, I set out early, 8:30 AM to beat the Saturday crowds. I was rewarded gloriously. This event made me believe more strongly then ever that we have connections to nature that we’re not aware of, until times like this. About an hour into my journey I sensed there were manatees nearby. I moved myself to the center of the river, away from the banks, where the water is deeper. Within a few minutes, there they were! Four manatees up ahead. I believe that they sensed my psychic call to them. I approached cautiously but then realized they were coming to greet me. They swam right up to my boat, one of them bumping right into me. I spent the next ten minutes within them. Just the manatees and me. No one else around. At one point, the one up against the boat allowed me to scratch his/her back. He lifted his tail up and then brought his head out of the water and looked right at me. After our ten minute love fest, they dove down and swam away.

Times like this change you. They really do. To be blessed by encounters with nature in such a personal and revealing way is powerful. We hope to come back to this very special place next winter on our planned four month stay in South Florida, at the park we were at in Juno Beach last month. I hope to have more encounters like this one, if I’m lucky enough.

My visit with the Manatees