Such were the words of my sister (in-law), Susi. Juniper "Run" (officially Juniper Springs Recreation Area) is located in the middle of the state by Ocala in the National Forest there. As a kid, we used to go canoeing on it but I hadn't done it since highschool, so I thought it would be fun for Susi to do with me. There are more springs in Florida than in any other state and most of them are in this area. The water throughout the whole canoe trip is crystal clear (the water I grew up with in my backyard is brackish (salt and fresh combined) and coffee-colored because of all the tree leaves that have dropped into it, which essentially makes tea out of the river. So this shallow and clear "river" is really beautiful. The surroundings are as well, even though it is winter and a lot of the vegetation in the area is dormant and brown.
It's hard to capture it in pictures, but we gave it a try. We had to dodge low branches (once having to position the canoe perfectly and then lean lay back on each other as we passed under a particularly low tree) and steer through very tight areas until the river opened up, so excuse the skewed pictures. They had to be taken at a moment's notice without letting go of the paddle, so we did the best we could. =)
A raccoon digging around in the water when we first put in:
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Those pictures remind me of the childrens song about the monkeys and the crocodile or was it an alligator? Either way very cool pictures
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