We had a nice walk around a mostly deserted De Leon Springs State Park recently. I'm reluctant to share these photos as it might encourage crowds to converge on this largely unspoiled slice of old Florida
The spring is named for Juan Ponce de León, who may have led the first Spanish expedition to Florida in 1513. Legend says that he was in search of the fountain of youth, and found it here. Historians might disagree with de León's legacy (see Florida's 500th Birthday Celebration).
Follow Phillip
on instagram
on facebook
on twitter
Below: Another view of the concrete and footbridges and guardrails that protect people from falling into the river. All that concrete and aluminum detracts from the natural beauty of the place.
Below: The water is cool and clear year round. It remains a constant 73° F (23° C). The main spring is a convergence of two underground water flows, and produces an average of 17.6 million gallons of water daily (67 million liters).
While it was an ideal day around the deserted spring when we ventured onto the boardwalks to explore some of the 18,000 acres of lakes, creeks and marshes we were bombarded by huge mosquitoes and biting flies.
Below: The Mill and restaurant by a concrete-sided pool around part of the spring.
The legend goes that in search of Florida, on April 2, 1513, de León sighted what he thought was an island. He named it La Florida in recognition of the verdant landscape and because it was the Easter season, which the Spaniards called Pascua Florida (Festival of Flowers).
The exact location of de León's landing is unknown though some historians say it was at St. Augustine, while others think it was at Ponce de León Inlet south of Daytona Beach and about 30 miles from the spring that bears his name. de León was also credited with discovering the Gulf Stream. On April 8, 1513 his armada encountered a current so strong that it pushed them backwards and forced them to seek anchorage.
Click on any image for a larger view
![]()
THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
According to legend, Ponce de León discovered Florida while searching for the Fountain of Youth. Though stories of vitality-restoring waters were know on both sides of the Atlantic long before Ponce de León, the story of his searching for them was not attached to him until after his death. In his Historia General y Natural de las Indias of 1535, Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés wrote that Ponce de León was looking for the waters of Bimini to cure his aging. A similar account appears in Francisco López de Gómara's Historia General de las Indias of 1551. Then in 1575, Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, a shipwreck survivor who had lived with the Native Americans of Florida for 17 years, published his memoir in which he locates the waters in Florida, and says that Ponce de León was supposed to have looked for them there. Though Fontaneda doubted that Ponce de León had really gone to Florida looking for the waters, the account was included in the Historia general de los hechos de los Castellanos of Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas of 1615. Most historians hold that the search for gold and the expansion of the Spanish Empire were far more imperative than any potential search for the fountain.
![]()
Giant Live Oak Trees (Quercus virginiana) circle the spring and provide shade for those visiting who are not so accustomed to Florida's relentless sunshine and heat.
Centuries-old solitary Sabal Palms (Sabal palmetto) also populate the grounds. The Sabal Palm is the state tree of Florida. . . perfectly evolved to withstand wind, rain, flood, drought, cold. . . whatever nature can throw at her.
I was surprised by how much water was coming out of the main spring as it hasn't rained in Florida in nearly 6 weeks. The water is obviously traveling a great distance from perhaps the foothills of the Appalachians. Despite that, there wasn't enough water to turn the sugar mill wheel.
At the Old Spanish Sugar Mill Restaurant, guests can make their own pancakes at the table. This was once a popular adventure on weekends. The mill wheel was not turning this week, only a trickle of water flowed through the sluice to the mill wheel (above). Perhaps indicative of the extremely dry conditions Florida has experienced for years.
Above and Below: A couple of old signs from around the Spring property. At one time the sign at bottom beckoned travelers from Jacksonville. Today the nearby highway carries mostly local traffic as the Interstate highways bypassed this old Florida landmark by 25 miles.
Its hard to find a natural feature like this in Florida, so deserted. Still, I have to wonder what de León would think today of all the nearby senseless development. Was he really a conquistador only in search of gold? Or did he have some sense of the natural beauty of the place he was "discovering". . . would he be aghast at the sight of what has become of Florida? Or would he be looking to cash in like so many other interlopers have over the 500 years since his initial visit.
One can still escape the crowds in Florida. but it is becoming increasingly difficult. There are still flowers too, where one cultivates them. The natural wildflowers have withered, dried, and died these many long dry seasons. Above and below: These are some of my Sunflower Trees (Tithonia diversifolia) which remain in full bloom. This is the longest period I've had to enjoy them since the climate started changing so radically. Normally the Sunflower trees don't bloom until late October. In a "normal" year we wouldn't have any frost until late December. But there is nothing "normal" about our weather anymore. We'll have frost, then heat, then more frost. . . then really hot. . . and moreover, never-ending dry spells. Today was 82° F (28° C) with cloud-free skies.
We've Read:
A Canadian flag raising on Hans Island in 2005, left, and a Danish flag raising i n 2002
From left: Canadian Department of National Defense, Polfoto
International disputes over territory can be ugly affairs, waged with all the nastiness of a divorce, backed with the force of armies. Just in the last few years, China has built islands topped with military bases to back its claim to vast stretches of ocean, in conflict with half a dozen other Asian countries, while Russia has forged a path of bloodshed and destruction in Ukraine over its annexation of Crimea.
Nares Strait Border (Kennedy Channel) between Canada and Greenland
There is no border between point 122 and 123. Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Government of Canada relating to the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Greenland and Canada (17 December 1973). by Lasse JensenBut that’s not how Canada and Denmark roll. Their way of contesting ownership of a small (barren knoll measuring 1.3 km2 (0.5 sq mi), 1,290 metres (0.80 mi) long and 1,199 metres (0.745 mi) wide) in the Arctic would better suit a dinner party than a battlefield: It comes down to B.Y.O.B. Hans Island is really just a large rock, but it happens to lie smack dab in the middle of the Nares Strait, a 22-mile-wide channel of very cold water separating Canada and Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. The island falls within the 12-mile territorial limit of either shore, allowing both sides to claim it under international law.
Hans Island as seen from the air, with Canada's Ellesmere Island in the background
Canada and Denmark set out to establish a definitive border through the strait in 1973, but they couldn’t agree on what to do about Hans Island, so they left the issue aside to be resolved later.
The calm diplomatic waters grew choppy in 1984 when Canadian troops visited the island, planted their nation’s flag and left another symbolic marker as well: a bottle of Canadian whisky.
And so began a spirited dispute, one that has lasted decades, with each side dropping by the island periodically to scoop up the other side’s patriotic bottle and replace it with their own. (What becomes of the evicted liquor? No one is — hic — saying.)
Canada and Denmark agreed in 2005 on a process to resolve the status of Hans Island, but the diplomats have made little headway since then. Hoping to encourage the negotiations, two academics put forward a proposal in 2015 to blend realpolitik with real estate: Make the island a “condominium” of shared sovereignty under two flags — and presumably, two bottles.
![]()
The British Met Office's forecast for November, December and January warns that Northern Hemisphere temperatures are set to plummet into the coldest category it has on record.
And the forecast is so severe that the forecaster's experts are even briefing the Cabinet Office, emergency services, transport bosses and councils over how best to respond to extreme icy conditions.
It blames the coming deep freeze on disruptions to the polar vortex wind, which will force it to divert south from the Arctic circle and bring freezing winds to all of the Northern Hemisphere.
Sea Turtle Rescue
Extremely hot and dry conditions over Florida are being accompanied by a strong onshore flow around a massive high pressure system. That onshore flow is causing very rough surf conditions stranding hundreds of endangered juvenile Hawksbill Sea Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) along Florida East Coast beaches.
The turtles are exhausted and generally motionless by the time they end up on shore having been tossed around by the rough surf for hours. If you find any of these turtles take them to the nearest lifeguard or ranger station so that they might see that the proper authorities rescue them.
It appears the turtles are tangled in sargassum (sea weed) as it washes ashore and then they struggle out to get away from the surf. The beaches are badly eroded from weeks of onshore flow following Hurricane Matthew and the turtles don't have anymore to go.
These images were made today at Canaveral National Seashore
south of New Smyrna Beach