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| Replica Skiff / Crystal River State Park |
We woke up to grey skies and high humidity on our last day in Bushnell. Rather than sit, we decided to explore the Crystal River area about 30 miles from Bushnell. The Crystal River State Park does not have camp sites. It as an area for hiking and fishing. We always check out new places for boat ramps, and as we were looking at a spot to put the dory in the river, a man by the name of Bill Wayland stopped us to admire our " Guideboat." When not in use, our dory is strapped to the roof of the Jeep, and it tends to be a conversation starter wherever we a. it's not unusual to be in a Walmart parking lot and have someone want to know about the boat. Now this conversation was unusual because he's only one of two since we bought the boat who knew it was not a canoe. We discovered Bill moved to Florida from Dayton, Ohio ten years ago. He used to build guideboats and knew quite a bit about boats in general. His current project was with a group who build, by hand, boats that were used during the Civil War era - boats of all sizes. The one he was working on this day was a sailing scow replica. When fully constructed, the mast will stand 36 feet tall and wii fit in the tabernacle (the white ladder- like construction) on top of the deck. The plan is to complete construction by late August. Why all that hard work to build a replica? The boat builders are working with the Crystal River Anthropological Preserve to study the construction and durability of the Civil War era boats. They plan to use it as a teaching tool along with the other smaller boats, such as the skiff pictured below. Bill told us they have considered sailing the scow to Cuba... Not sure if he was kidding. As is often true when we talk to local residents, we find out about what we are missing by not staying in one location. The following week-end, the park was hosting a small boat gathering where people who own boats like our dory gather and talk about, well, boats. Food, music, tent camping, and good fellowship with people who like small boats. Unfortunately, we had to move on.
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| Sailing Scow w/ Historical Documentation |
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| Replica Sailing Scow w/o mast |
Our next stop was at the Crystal River Anthropological Preserve just a few miles from the state park. The area had been donated to the State of Florida by three private citizens. Dating back to 450 BC, Native American ceremonial and burial mounds were constructed along the Crystal River. According to archeologists, the tribes that existed in this area at that time cannot be traced to any tribes in existence today. The ceremonial and burial mounds were used until about 550 AD. Now I will admit to an over active imagination at times, but this 14 acre area had an amazing "sense" to it. First, it's almost impossible to wrap my head around the time period. As we walked the paths in the preserve that wind around and the burial and ceremonial mounds, I tired to imagine the people and artifacts they used at that time. Some ideas have been reconstructed by archeologists - much like what the boat builders are trying to do with the Civil War era boats.
In addition, when you put some thought to the religious import of this place to so many generations of people, it is humbling. We are such a small part of the historical flow.
We left the preserve area to return to Bushnell and finish our packing to move on to Cedar Key and Sunset Isle RV Park.
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