Blackwater River State Park – Fourth Location
Saturday, March 16
The drive to Blackwater was easy and uneventful. We drove along the Gulf shore almost to Pensacola before heading north. We made our usual Walmart stop for provisioning and fuel. The park and campground are very beautiful and the sites are perfect with full hookups. Our site was backed up to the river, although it was not visible through the woods. There was a nice path right behind our site that led down to the river and sandbar beach. There was a boardwalk over a swampy area to get to the beach. The Blackwater River is fairly shallow, sandy bottom with many turns and at most there are sandbars. The river was a couple of feet higher than usual due to recent rains in the area, thus the current was also swifter. However, this made downstream paddling so easy, only needed to use paddles to steer.
We took the dogs on a hike down the path and along the river trail. There were several people on the sandbars enjoying the beautiful weather. Kurt decided he would like to do a short paddle, so we found a boat ramp a mile upstream in the park and the take out downstream. I dropped him and Kody off at the boat ramp and picked them up at the take out bridge. After he got on the water, there was a state park sign indicating that no pets, alcohol or glass bottles permitted. Well, he had all three…. The FWC ranger was driving around near the take out and we had to sneak Kody across the sandbar and back to the truck. But, we were told later that they don’t strongly enforce these rules unless the offenders are really being unruly or blatant. So probably our name is on some state park rule breaker list. I keep telling Kurt, one day they’re not going to allow us back in Florida State Parks.
We returned to the RV and decided it was time for Happy Hour! We called the local canoe outfitter and made plans to use their shuttle service the next day to take us to a put in 11 miles upstream. After a dinner of grilled pork roast, we were ready to relax in the RV. The weather was chilly and we didn’t have firewood yet, so we retreated into the RV for the rest of the evening.
Sunday, March 17
After a restful night’s sleep, we awoke and prepared our kayaks and stuff for the paddle. We had coffee and breakfast and then drove to the outfitter location. We got all the information about the river and met the shuttle driver at the take out parking lot. Paul was a very nice local guy who was born and raised in the area. He took our kayaks, gear and us in his truck/trailer to the put in about 11 miles north. The weather was supposed to be sunny and nice, but it ended up overcast and a little chilly the whole day. However, the river was beautiful and we “floated” downstream, passing many sandbars at almost every turn. The current was pretty swift and we were able to use the rudders to do most of the steering. Kurt fished along the way, but only got one bite which got off the hook. The current probably kept most of the fish in hiding. We stopped a couple of times on sandbars to stretch our legs and have some lunch. It was an enjoyable paddle, despite the cloudy weather. The sandbars were amazing and abundant. We have never paddled a river like this before; it’s so nice to have places to stop. There was not much wildlife on the river, just a few turtles that appeared near the end of the paddle as the sun was beginning to peek out. After about four hours, we passed the State Park shoreline and then arrived at the take out bridge. Kurt brought the truck back from the parking lot and we loaded up our kayaks and gear, then headed back to camp.
The dogs were very happy when we returned and let them out. They were alone for about 5 hours and behaved nicely. They are really getting used to their time in the RV, but I think they are taking advantage of some down time. Normally, they are worn out and ready to go to bed by 7 or 8 pm. Most of the time we make them hang out with us around the campfire, they really do like the warmth when it’s chilly out. But we let them go inside to their beds way before we are ready to go in.
We then took them for a walk along the river trail and let them run on one of the sandbar beaches. Kody ran a B-500 and released some of his pent up energy. They love playing on the beach (another park violation). Kurt decided we needed to “collect” some firewood. We all loaded up in the truck and drove back into the State Forest and found a forest road. There, we were able to get enough firewood to last four more nights. Again, we had awesome campfires each night. After dinner, we returned to the campfire until it burned out for the night. We were tired and went to bed a little early.
Monday, March 18
We woke up a little late as we had nothing to rush for in the morning. After coffee and breakfast, we decided to drive north into the State Forest to find out about paddling Big Juniper Creek, which is a tributary of the Blackwater River. Kurt wanted to find a put in and take out so we could do our own shuttle. Juniper Creek was different from the Blackwater, much more shallow and narrow, with a prettier tree canopy and high banks. We decided to let Kurt do this paddle and I would shuttle for him tomorrow. We found a trailhead that was supposed to run along the creek, and we set out with the dogs. It turned out not to be a nice hike, there had been a fire in the area and everything was charred and not pretty. We abandoned the hike and decided to go back to camp and hike there. At that point, I needed some down time and sit outside and read my book. Kurt went on a bike ride for awhile then decided to do a paddle out of the park. He kayaked on the Blackwater River downstream for about a 1.5 miles to look for the confluence of Juniper Creek. He turned around to paddle back upstream to find out if it was too difficult, but found it not to be so hard.
Later we walked back down to the sandbar beach with the dogs and hiked one of the trails. After dinner we sat around the campfire and enjoyed the rest of the evening. We went to bed a little early to get some rest for tomorrow’s paddle.
Tuesday, March 19
After coffee and breakfast, we packed up Kurt’s kayak and gear for his paddle on Big Juniper Creek. We went up to the highway bridge to the put in. The boys went with us and Kurt took off in his kayak and headed downstream. The boys and I headed back to camp. We went on a little hike in the park, then back to the RV. I spent some time taking care of cleaning and re-organizing our messy stuff. After about two hours, I headed back to the take out where we had arranged to pickup Kurt. The boys were able to run around the sandbar and the river trail while we were waiting. When Kurt arrived, he was very happy with the paddle and the weather was actually perfect, sunny and warmer.
After arriving back at camp, we went on a bike ride on a rail trail in the town of Milton. It was called the Blackwater Heritage Trail, totaling 8.1 miles one way. We drove into Milton and found the main trailhead. We rode up the trail about 6 miles, then turned around. It was a nice ride and the weather was perfect. The area has a couple of military facilities, including a naval air station and helicopter training. There seemed to be a continual flying of choppers over the whole area. It was a little annoying when they flew over the campground at night, when everything was nice and quiet. Oh well, they have to learn to fly choppers somewhere!
When we were back at camp, we noticed that another RV had pulled in with two kayaks on their truck. They were walking their dog around the campground when we talked to them to see if they would be interested in kayaking with us and running our own shuttle. After we discussed the plan, we all decided we could do this the next day. We made plans to meet at 10am and take the kayaks to the 11 mile put in and leave our truck at the take out. They are a very nice couple from Ontario spending the winter down here in the south. Tim and Celina are very much outdoor people and serious kayakers. It was nice to meet another friendly couple that loves RVing and kayaking!
After dinner, Kurt, the boys and I had our usual campfire and enjoyed the evening.
Wednesday, March 20
Tim and Celina met us with their truck and we loaded up our kayaks. We first took our truck to the take out parking lot and then we all drove to the put in. We launched our kayaks and began the paddle downstream. Again, the forecast was to be sunny and nice, but it was quite the opposite. The skies were very cloudy and the temps were colder than the previous couple of days. Fortunately, we all had dressed in warm clothes. Tim and Celina had sit-in kayaks with skirts, so they had a warmer advantage. As we floated downstream, we all chatted and got to know each other better. They are very interesting people and have traveled around the world. As Canadians, they have traveled to Cuba and really love going to that island. They love RVing and being in the warm weather for the winter (who doesn’t). We stopped on a large sandbar for lunch and a rest stop. We completed the paddle in about 3.5 hours. It turned out to be a fun and enjoyable paddle, despite the cold and cloudy weather. When we got to the take out, the guys retrieved Tim’s truck from the put in and we all loaded up our kayaks and headed back to the campground.
After arriving back at the RV, the dogs were very happy to see us. We took them for another hike on the river trail and Kurt was fishing in the ponds and river. We had invited Tim and Celina to come over after dinner and enjoy the campfire with us. We all had a very nice evening, continuing to chat and get to know more about each other. We really enjoyed their company and exchanged contact information. We invited them to come to south Florida next winter and spend some time down there, and we can paddle some of the great rivers in our area. Hopefully, they will be able to work this into their trip planning next year. We talked and drank wine and beer until the fire burned out and we ran out of wood. It was a most lovely evening and we were very tired from the day’s activities.
The next day we would be heading to Florida Caverns State Park, near Marianna Florida. There is supposed to be excellent paddling on the Chipola River.
