This very small park and campground (24 total sites) is situated on and around the highest point in Florida at 323 feet above sea level. We were both fortunate and unfortunate to have been here when we were! We left Rocky Bayou in a relative break in an ongoing rainstorm that had been with us for more than two days and when we got to Falling Waters the storm caught up to us. Until it ended early this morning (2-26-2013) the region had experienced from 10 to 21-inches of rain in a little over 4 days. Local schools were closed today due to road flooding.
The good news is that there was a good flow over the falls and we were able to see it at its best. It is located in an area marked with many sinkholes formed when underlying rock collapsed. Falling Waters Sink is a 100-foot deep, 20-feet wide cylindrical pit into which flows a small stream that drops 73 feet to the bottom of the sink.
Left above is the top of the falls and on the right is looking down into the sink. Below is a view from a little farther away.
Native Americans utilized the nearby sink holes as a hideout by warriors fighting against Andrew Jackson during the Seminole War. The waterfall was harnessed to operate a grist mill to grind grain and in 1891 a distillery was established on the site to serve the needs of railroad construction crews. In the 1920s the first oil well in Florida was drilled here based on information in a 400-year old diary to a depth of 4,912 feet, but proved to be a dry hole.
Spring seems to be underway as some decorative trees are in bloom.
If you in the northeast think you have stinkbugs, they look like babies compared to this one.
Above is a native azalea which grows in the woods in wet areas.
The park is comprised nearly completely of long-needle pine trees which are also native to the region. The park staff conduct controlled burns of areas of the park to discourage invasive hardwood species such as oak and others. The pines are unaffected by the fires which are set about every 2 to 3 years.
Above is another native of the southeast, the Red-cockaded Woodpecker seen here on a tree by our bedroom window. One curious behavior of these birds is to peck holes in the pine trees adjacent to their nests causing the pine gum or resin to ooze from the holes. We have seen them in Florida on other occasions but this is the first photo for us.
On our drive from Falling Waters to our next stop we saw this sign on a little-used highway through the Appalachicola National Forest.
We got a kick out of the "Rooter to the Tooter" line but a quick look on the internet suggests it is commonly used in the BBQ community.
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