Blue Spring State Park is a state park located west of Orange City, Florida. The park is a popular tourist destination. Available activities include canoeing, SCUBA diving, Kayaking, fishing, camping, hiking, wildlife watching, and swimming. The spring is the largest on the St. Johns River and serves as the winter home of many Florida manatees that come up the St. Johns to bask in the relatively warm waters (constant 72 Fahrenheit) of the springs. Over 100 million US gallons of water flow out of Blue Spring into the St. Johns River every day.

The spring and surrounding land was acquired by the Thursby family in the mid-19th century and a large plantation-style home was built upon a shell mound on the property. The area seemed to be excellent for cultivation of citrus fruit, and a small railway was built linking Orange City to the dock at Blue Spring. Ultimately, the Florida East Coast Railway was constructed not far from the present-day park. A killing freeze occurred in the 1890s, wiping out area citrus groves and driving the industry south. The Thursbys switched to the tourist trade, taking advantage of the beautiful spring and excellent fishing and hunting opportunities along the St. Johns River. The park was acquired by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in 1972 to kick-start its Manatee Protection Program.
The shaft in the photo below once turned a paddlewheel on the steamboat Fannie Dugan, a side-wheeeler in the late 1800s.

The two RV Gypsies plus their good friends, Dee Dee and Forrest Pierce and their daughter Judy went on a St. Johns River Cruise in Blue Springs State Park. The tours run daily at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. The two-hour narrated nature and ecological cruise on the beautiful and historic St. Johns River was very nice and informative, but it was not manatee season, so all everyone got to see was a lot of birds.

Karen took a photo of everyone. Dee Dee gave Lee a big salute.

On the boat and ready to go!

Does the sign below mean that there is ONLY ONE alligator around?



Birds are really good at camouflage. There are birds in most of these photos, but some are definitely hard to see, like the birds in these first two photos below.





The scenery along the way was very pretty and relaxing!

A turtle on a log	3 ducks in the water



Even though it was a beautiful day, and everyone enjoyed the trip, it was very cold - almost cold enough for teeth to chatter.

The cruise did provide blankets for everyone, but it was still cold.



Karen photographed the houseboat because she liked the slide.	A fish swimming under the water.



After the cruise, it was dinner time. J.C's Lobster Pot had good food.

A skeleton in the motorcycle's side-car.