August 26th, 2008
This past weekend we decided to take a trip down to Hillsborough River State Park and see what it was all about. The park itself is huge and there’s tons of things to do at the park. 
You can pack a lunch and go for a hike around any of the 4 trails that lead through about 7 miles of the park. You can bike along the wetlands nature trail. The park also offers guided tours of Fort Foster. The only standing replica of a fort from the second Seminole War. While we arrived too late to take the tour, I think it would be a great learning experiance for anyone who wants to learn a little bit about Florida’s history and have a good time enjoying Florida the way it was meant to be.
You can also head on over to their HUGE swimming pool that located in the middle of the park almost. a beautiful place to head on the weekends. The price is $2 per person to get into the swimming area. even if you’re not swimming, you still have to pay the fee so be prepared. Personally, the $4 (per car load of up to 8 people) to get into the park and the $2 per person to get into the swimming area is definitely worth it. You’ll have no problem finding a parking place and there’s not an overwhelming number of people at the pool side. At the pool you will also find the park’s gift shop and consessions. The food looked pretty good even though we didn’t try it. also, they have tables with flat iron grills placed in the center. I’ve never seen that before and found that to be really cool as well. We dont know what they use them for or anything but perhaps one of you might know and be able to drop us a comment and let us know. It would be interesting to find out.
After checking out the pool and swimming for a little bit we headed over to parking lot #3 to eat lunch and relax whiile the kids played on the playground. There is plenty of covered picnic tables for you to sit at but you might be surrounded by buzzards. yes i said it, buzzards. there were probably a good 30 buzzards just flying around and perching themselves on top of the pavillions. This could have been just that day that they decided they wanted to hang around i’m not sure but to me, they looked pretty comfortable as if it were their meeting grounds. After we finished our lunch we headed down the trail towards the suspension bridge. This thing is awesome!. It’s definitely beautiful and would make a great destination for photographers. In the evening light with my Nifty Fifty (50mm f/1.8), I walked away with some amazing photos. could have used a little fill flash but even without it the photos were awesome and the colors were bold and vivid. We will be going back with some models and some strobes here in the near future. It’s a perfect place for beautiful portraits to say the least. All though i would recommend some type of insect repellant with deet in it. You all know how Pam is if you have read about any of our past adventures and this holds true here as well. If there’s a bug that bites, it’s bound to find her. and they did! the mosquitos were pretty bad in this area but that’s to be expected with any type of wetlands around so be prepared. While we were out on the trail I didnt notice any deer flies or anything but when we were pulling into the park I did get attacked by one as it flew into my head through the open window, lol.
Now if you don’t know, the Hillsborough River is one of the only rivers in Florida with rapids and the section through 
Hillsborough River State Park is home to the only Class II Rapids in Florida. To me this is pretty cool. Me being a Florida native i’ve never really seen rapids. Especially not in my own state. So when I had the opportunity to go and photograph some, i got overly excited and left my tripod at home. I’ve always wanted the ’silky water shot’. Even though i still dont have it 100% because you need a tripod for that type of shot and i left mine at home, i do know where to go to go and get it… and I will be going back tripod in hand. If you’re not up for a long hike just to see the rapids, don’t fret. It’s only a 3 - 5 minute hike from parking lot #2. The rapids are closed off to kayaks, canoes, and boats but you can enter your canoe or kayak down stream and enjoy a day on the river.
I think that is about it for this adventure to another one of Florida’s beautiful State Parks so unless we forgot something, Thanks for reading!.
July 23rd, 2008
I would have to say at this point, this is one of our favorite parks. We’ve been here twice within the last 2 weeks. 
Park admission is $4.00 per car load with up to 8 people and well worth every penny. The park has everything one could ask for. Beautiful scenery, the clearest water you will ever see, camping, wildlife, picnic areas, playgrounds for the kids. canoeing and kayaking, snorkeling and scuba diving. There is also a few pavilions with picnic tables but the park ranger told us that you do have to reserve them in advance if you’re looking to get one.
There are canoes available for rent as well as kayaks. The canoes are $12 per hour and the kayaks $10 per hour. The canoes have a maximum of 3 people. Prices for kayaks and canoes include paddles and life jackets. There are also snorkel sets available that include a mask, fins, and a snorkel for $3.50 an hour if you’re interested. I would recommend at least renting the snorkel set if you don’t have a set of your own. The water is beautiful and clear as can be, but in order to see down into the 25 foot crater of the spring, you’re going to want at least a mask.
If you’re a licensed scuba diver you can take a trip down into the cave at the bottom of the crater. We’re not too sure how far back this goes and from what i can see from the videos on youtube, it doesn’t go very far. Either that or the divers just didn’t go that far into it. Still looks like a great place to dive though.
If i had to recommend a time to visit the park, i would say about 5pm until 8pm (closing time). The kitchen
closes at 5pm so after that a lot of the people seem to head out for the day from what we can tell and it isn’t so packed. A plus side to visiting the park this late in the day is that if yo don’t feel like swimming, you can go for a jog, walk, or bike ride along the miles of trails that the park has. We would recommend that instead of a bike ride or a jog, you take a walk. I took off for a walk, I would say around 5pm, and encountered an armadillo that was searching for food along the trails and after walking from the spring back to the North End Trail System. If you want to walk the Trail System i would get here a little earlier than 5pm and then sign in and grab a trail map. The North End Trail System contains 8.5 miles of trails for you to walk through and enjoy a variety of different plant and animal life so you’ll be out there for a while.
On my way back to the spring i encountered about 5 deer that I startled as I was walking along the trail. The 
deer ran off about 200 feet or so away from me and stopped while I took a few photos of them so they are pretty tame and will let you stand by and admire their presence. Even though they are tame and don’t mind you being close to them, please do not feed the deer. they are wild animals. A couple of visitors that were camping at the park said the deer will walk right through the camp ground so if you’re staying out there in the camp ground, keep an eye out and you might get lucky. Speaking of the camping at the park, the park offers 60+ camping sites that range from RV lots to tent lots that are a pretty nice size as well. you won’t be on top of your neighbors at this park and the camp sites are very well maintained so we would definitely recommend a camping trip to this park as well.
This is one park that we will be back to time and time again on those hot summer days to get out, get wet, and enjoy Florida as it was meant to be. I’m also pretty sure that we’ll be bringing the lighting equipment with us and locating a model or two to spend a couple hours with us at the park. It’s that gorgeous!
July 17th, 2008
Fanning Springs State Park is a great place to take the kids on those hot summer days. Pack a lunch and head out for a great day at a beautiful spring. Let the kids swim and grab a sp
ot on the floating dock that surrounds the swimming area so that you can catch some rays while keeping an eye on the little ones or jump in a have a great time yourself. Fair warning though, the water is COLD. I referred to it as swimming in a Slurpee if you’re interested but i was told by one of the park visitors that the water stays at a constant 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
A few things that this parks offers besides gorgeous scenery, relaxation, and a butt load of fun are large clean restrooms but the floor was a bit wet from everyone going in there after swimming so wear your sandals. A snack bar that offers some delicious sandwiches as well as snacks and drinks.
There are plenty of covered picnic tables but you might want to get here a bit early to snag one of those as we are sure they fill up rather quickly. There is also a near by boat ramp as well so you can launch your boat in the river and ride on down right up to the floating dock and tie up to let the kids out for a swim at the park. Plenty of shade and picnic tables as well as a volley ball court and a playground for your kids to play on if they get tired of swimming or while you prepare their lunch on one of the many barbecue grills that the park has even though we did notice that there were a few people who brought their own grills with them.
The spring has a diving platform that you and your kids can jump from with a lifeguard on duty. at least there was a lifeguard there while we were. I’m not sure if they’re always on duty or not but on busy days i would sure hope so. Even though the park was fairly crowded (it was free admission day), it didn’t seem too crowded down in the water. We arrived there pretty late in the afternoon as well and had no problem at all finding a picnic table. They also have an observation platform above the diving platform so you can safely take photos of your children or friends having a great time at the park.
Pam also asked me to be sure to mention that the bugs weren’t all that bad either. trust me, if there’s a bug out there that bites, it will find her. She’s like a magnet for those type of things.
July 16th, 2008
The Crystal River Preserve State Park is a great place to enjoy nature at it’s best. The estuarine system gets water from 7 of the counties rivers and feeds an abundance of wildlife. Good news for us nature lovers and photographers!
To truly appreciate this park, you’re going to need a boat which unfortunately we do not have access to but the park does offer boat tours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Unlike the Crystal River Archaeological State Park, we did see the tour boats here and this is probably where you go to take the tours offered by that park since it is pretty much right in the middle of this one.
The park has clean restrooms and has some beautiful gardens out front of the visitor center for you to admire and also has little plaques telling you what the plants are in the 
gardens. Pretty interesting learning what some of the plants and trees are really named and also learning a little bit about them at the same time. There is also a nice little waterfall in the garden that makes for a pleasant and peaceful experience. Along the boat docks are a few picnic tables for you to enjoy a nice lunch or something at but unfortunately they’re not in the shade or anything so it would probably be better to use these in the evenings when it’s not so hot out.
Aside from the area around the visitor center, there is also a kayak and canoe launch as well as the Crystal Cove day fishing area that has been dubbed “The Mullet Hole”. I assume the fishing here is pretty good but i cant say for sure. There were a couple people out there fishing though. I should also mention that this park is is a national gold metal winner. It is also America’s first two time winner of this award as well. Unfortunately we’re not quite sure what the parks are judged on so we really dont know why it’s a national gold metal winner or anything but it is worth mentioning. Perhaps one of you may be aware of judging criteria and will let us know.
You can pack a lunch and go for a hike around any of the 4 trails that lead through about 7 miles of the park. You can bike along the wetlands nature trail. The park also offers guided tours of Fort Foster. The only standing replica of a fort from the second Seminole War. While we arrived too late to take the tour, I think it would be a great learning experiance for anyone who wants to learn a little bit about Florida’s history and have a good time enjoying Florida the way it was meant to be.
After checking out the pool and swimming for a little bit we headed over to parking lot #3 to eat lunch and relax whiile the kids played on the playground. There is plenty of covered picnic tables for you to sit at but you might be surrounded by buzzards. yes i said it, buzzards. there were probably a good 30 buzzards just flying around and perching themselves on top of the pavillions. This could have been just that day that they decided they wanted to hang around i’m not sure but to me, they looked pretty comfortable as if it were their meeting grounds. After we finished our lunch we headed down the trail towards the suspension bridge. This thing is awesome!. It’s definitely beautiful and would make a great destination for photographers. In the evening light with my Nifty Fifty (50mm f/1.8), I walked away with some amazing photos. could have used a little fill flash but even without it the photos were awesome and the colors were bold and vivid. We will be going back with some models and some strobes here in the near future. It’s a perfect place for beautiful portraits to say the least. All though i would recommend some type of insect repellant with deet in it. You all know how Pam is if you have read about any of our past adventures and this holds true here as well. If there’s a bug that bites, it’s bound to find her. and they did! the mosquitos were pretty bad in this area but that’s to be expected with any type of wetlands around so be prepared. While we were out on the trail I didnt notice any deer flies or anything but when we were pulling into the park I did get attacked by one as it flew into my head through the open window, lol.
Hillsborough River State Park is home to the only Class II Rapids in Florida. To me this is pretty cool. Me being a Florida native i’ve never really seen rapids. Especially not in my own state. So when I had the opportunity to go and photograph some, i got overly excited and left my tripod at home. I’ve always wanted the ’silky water shot’. Even though i still dont have it 100% because you need a tripod for that type of shot and i left mine at home, i do know where to go to go and get it… and I will be going back tripod in hand. If you’re not up for a long hike just to see the rapids, don’t fret. It’s only a 3 - 5 minute hike from parking lot #2. The rapids are closed off to kayaks, canoes, and boats but you can enter your canoe or kayak down stream and enjoy a day on the river.
