"THE ONE NIGHT STAND CAMPOUT": All great journeys must come to a end!!!

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Back out on the main river we again met up with the folks from the southwest Florida water management district... We told them of the springs that we had just visited but they where unaware of them...The two of them where testing a smaller spring on the north side of the river... Our sun was beginning to get a bit lower but that did not stop us from paddling even further down river. ..Ten more minutes heading west the river splits with the left side for the larger boats and the right side being more suited for canoes or kayaks...We padded for some time...Perhaps a half hour and ones again the route split...this is where we made our decision to start making our way back up the river to the campground..Paddling the trip back up river seemed easy....Perhaps the wind at our backs was helping us with our return trip...About half way back to civilization we where approached by a large boat. The four men on board asked if we would like to make the front page of the Sunday Citrus County Chronicle newspaper...All as we needed to do was to follow them back to the boat dock...As we did..they snapped many pictures of us paddling from the sides and to the back of there much larger vessel...Ones back photographer Matthew Beck asked us to follow a bit feather...He had one more place he would like to take photos...That place is where in fact the photo that ended up in the paper was taken...After we pulled out at the boat dock and loaded the kayaks on my Ford ranger Bill could not thank me enough times for such a great trip...As he prepared to drive away on his way back to home to Thonotosassa he stopped and said the next time you go kayaking Gator...Make sure to include him in any of my river trip plans... With the sun fading fast in the west I pulled my little Scotty silverside camper in to lot #45 of Chassahowitzka River campground. After pull out a chair and sitting down for a bit of a brake...I called Serro Scotty camper enthusiasts Barbara Ellis of Wildwood Florida to tell her about how wonderful Chassahowitzka River was...Not long in to the conversation I felt the first signs of night fall...Mosquito's where beginning to show up. I told Barbara that night fall was coming quick and that I needed to get a campfire going fast...I sat in front of that campfire for about four hours .... Listened to the sounds of crickets and a good number of owls in the cool night air...Yes Chassahowitzka River and Chassahowitzka river campground is on my return list of places to see ones again in the very near future...This wild life sanuary is only twenty two miles from my home in Spring Hill Florida. So in fact this could end up being my host campground. The one I end up taking many of friend to see when they visit me here in Florida...Some from as far away as New Hampshire or Massachusetts...Whether you canoe or kayak with friends or just like the solitude of a river...Perhaps you like fishing, wildlife photography, or still life painting, tent camping in the outback or camping in your Scotty camper.......You will love the Chassahowitzka river and the Chassahowitzka river campground...Kayaking the Chassahowitzka river here in Florida was truly a religious experience and the most exciting river I have kayaked in the sunshine state... Folks that know me can tell you better than I can that I'm not a religious man...Having said that... And having a place like this so close to my finger tips make it even more inviting for my return...I can tell you one thing... that sharing a kayaking experience on the Chassahowitzka with a good friend...Is like sharing a kayaking trip with God...Your friendships will be even stronger having done the trip...The Chassahowitzka river is truly a heaven here on earth!!!