state park

Kayakers paddle down the Silver River at Silver Springs State Park in Florida, as seen during our October 2023 Florida Trip. We saw lots of kayakers while we were at Silver Springs. But we also saw signs warning of alligators and snakes in the area, and there is not much in a kayak to protect you from either of those. So maybe kayaking is not for us. There were also lots of stand-up paddleboarders, and that looked like fun, too.

A glass-bottom boat glides over the clear spring water at Silver Springs State Park in Florida, as seen during our October 2023 visit. Silver Springs was for many years a popular roadside attraction park, but its fame declined when the big theme parks moved into the state. Fortunately, some years ago the state of Florida took over the park and turned it into a state park, preserving its natural beauty for years to come.

A wooden boardwalk winds through cypress trees along the edge of the lake at Reelfoot Lake State Park in Tennessee. Recently, a group from our church went to eat lunch at Boyette’s, a catfish restaurant near Reelfoot. Nothing against the rest of the group, which are all fine people, but Laura and I decided to take our own car instead of riding the bus and then see if we could find any adventures after we ate.