Monkey(ing) Around at Silver River

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I’ve been wanting to do some sightseeing for the past couple of days.  I can only take so much of laying at the pool, going for walks, and reading. So it was decided that we would head up toward the Ocala National Forest to visit Silver River State Park.  I had been talking to a woman at water aerobics that has been fulltiming with her husband for the past eighteen years.  A long time.  Now here’s a brain I should be picking. When she told me of river waters so clear and so deep that you could see a good twenty feet down, I decided I had to see this place.  Upon arrival we decided to walk the Swamp Trail first.  I had never before in my life seen an armadillo in the wild.  Come to think of it, I never saw one in a zoo, either. The trail was only about two miles and afforded us some great scenery along with a decent workout.  But then the real surprise….. the Silver River.  And she was right, the water was crystal clear resonating with the hue of the Caribbean. It was magnificent. It was then that Robin and I decided to walk back to the River Trail and rent a canoe.  This was the real gem.  We paddled and idled past water lilies, herons, turtles, alligators, osprey, and came upon a troop of Rhesus monkeys.  The park guide informed me we may encounter monkeys but I thought he was just kidding.  We heeded his warning about not getting to close as a bite could be life threatening.  But we did maneuver the canoe to within a distance that they would throw twigs and nuts at us from the treetops above. All of this for a mere five dollars. One of the best days we’ve spent so far as our “life on the road” goes. GL