#306 Juniper Springs

As we began to head north doing our 2 hops if possible, we wanted to stay at anything that was Federal to get the half off discount and senior pass.

We were up towards Ocala National Forest area and we saw Juniper Springs. It was getting towards Memorial Day and we were there I guess a few days prior. I keep saying, boy did we stay in Florida too long. Now the daytime temperatures are about a hundred degrees every day.

This reality set in and I had already decided not to go up the east coast towards Wilmington and then Raleigh but instead I'm going to the mountains as quick as I can to get out of the heat.

Juniper Springs was nice it was a walk-in type camp so you really couldn't make a reservation but and we got there before things got busy midweek. We found a nice little spot it was a good price but it had no hook ups. We had to get plenty of water and used the generator all the time.

It was so hot that we had to have the generator on all day. The generator allowed times were 8 in the morning till 8 p.m.

I got to tell you from 8 at night until the next morning it was just pretty dang hot trying to sleep.

The good part was it was Juniper Springs when it was very nice and beautiful and ice-cold water.

Like many of the springs we have found in Florida that water is wonderful and clear and we went down about midday and sat and frolicking in the water and really enjoyed cooling off.

One thing that pleased me is this spring and many of the springs and many of the state parks were all built by the CCC's back in the great depression.

I knew about the CCC camps and my son and daughter both involved themselves in the Student Conservation Association which is sort of the grandchild of the CCC camps and not near as hard as or serious the CCC’s.

It was a kind of set up as a circular thing and had a really cool water operated mill. It wasn't used for grinding corn or anything We read about it and they had used this water wheel to make electricity for the whole camp.

Like I said the pool was circular and then had lots of concrete places to sit all around and then some green lawn and then some benches.

It also had a store and you know the basic hot dogs and hamburgers and such but it was a really nice little place. We went there to cool off two days in a row and brother it just kind of felt like we're just surviving it were so hot. As it got close to Memorial Day it suddenly became so crowded that the cars were backed up all the way to the highway trying to get in. We were very grateful that we were set up and we didn't really leave that much because it there was nothing for 15 miles and it was just a gas station. I think the only thing we do to get gas and a big orange drink and came back