December 7, 2020

Northern Florida

Stephen Foster Folk Cultural Center State Park White Springs, Florida

I took my early morning walk and at the end it began to drizzle.  We had rain then most of the morning.  We rode on 75N, an ordinary highway without much scenery.  It was a great time to get the Christmas cards ready to mail!

We arrived at Stephen Foster State Park in late afternoon.  There were no rangers at the entry station.  I walked all the way to the campsite to see if it was vacant.  Then, I walked to the camp host to inquire.  I called Tim and he met me with the RV.  We were finally able to get settled.  We got on our bikes to explore the park.  This is actually a really neat place…but because of COVID many of the park features were closed.

The park museum…closed.

The Festival of Lights…not on Mondays.

The Carillion Tower…closed.

The gift shop and craft village…closed.

This park is named for Stephen Foster who wrote the song “Old Folks at Home” or “Way Down Upon The Swanee River.”  It’s actually the Suwanee River. 

We rode down to the river.

We rode to the town of White Springs and saw the springs.  This sulfur hot spring was used by Native Americans for healing.  Later, this town became a tourist destination and an inn was built and people would come and soak in the springs. 

Tim continued on a tour of the town and I took myself back to the campground.  He found Adams Country Store established in 1885. 

The old truck out back.

This will be the last blog entry for a while.  We are headed to Atlanta and will be there for the holidays.  We plan to resume our traveling on January 4^th as we head west to Arizona for the winter.  Check back with us in early 2021! Until then, may you find joy this holiday season!