Falling Waters – No, Not Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater

 

I stopped at the border for my FREE cup of orange juice and all the tourism literature I could carry. Actually, I was quite selective, but I still ended up with two small litter bags full. I took advantage of their nice couches to pick a campground for the night. I had planned to stay at another Army Corps of Engineers campground, but the one I had in mind was back in Georgia. I couldn’t see crossing into Florida just to cross back out. I wanted to put my Florida sticker on Flo!

Falling Waters State Park was right down the road, so I called just to make sure they had a site available. The pleasant man answering the phone assured me that they had room for me so long as I was there by five o’clock, so I headed down the road.

When I got to the park, I received a friendly greeting. I told him that I wanted to stay for two nights, and I told him that I would love a pull-through site. Believe it or not, he had a pull-though site for me! Electricity, water and right down a paved path to a beautifully clean bath house. All this for less than $20 a night!

The only thing the park didn’t  have was sunshine. It was overcast when I arrived and went over to a site two over from mine to chat with some fellow Airstreamers. Bob offered me a “red drink.” Alcoholic beverages are never permitted in public parks, it seems. Well, except for Milwaukee.

Bob, Joan and I chatted for a while until the mosquitoes came to feed. I had forgotten about mosquitoes! Bug repellent immediately went on the mental shopping list. Bob came put with Off Wipes for Joan and me.

After a bit, my “red drink” was gone and the rain started spattering down. Back to Flo for dinner and TV. Electricity and good television reception!

The next day, it was time to see the the water fall that this park is named for. I took a short stroll through forest with interesting plaques and labels.

At 75 feet, Falling Waters is the highest waterfall in Florida. It is an unusual water fall because the water flows over a cliff and into a sinkhole.

Sinkholes and alligators…hmmm. Florida is sounding a little sketchy.

In response to a request from a Loyal Reader, here is information about sink holes.

A sinkhole is a completely natural occurrence, formed by the same forces that form caves. Rain water absorbs carbon dioxide as it falls through the atmosphere and passes through the soil. This turns the rainwater into a weak a acid – carbonic acid – that dissolves the limestone as it percolates through cracks in the rock.

Sinkholes are usually formed when the roofs of caves become too thin to support the rock and soil above then. The roof collapses and a sink hole is born. That is how it happened at Falling Waters.

Now, there are other sorts of holes that can occur that certainly resemble sink holes.

This hole opened up in Guatemala in 2010. According to the information I read at the time, it wasn’t a true sink hole. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t be pleased to find this in my neighborhood.

The water sounded lovely as it fell. Click on the link and enjoy it for yourself.

https://www.facebook.com/kalamazookim/videos/10153288876941989/