#4: Troy Spring - 8/26/11

To break up the 3 hour drive home from sturgeon field work on the Ochlocknee River, MR and I stopped at Troy Springs so I could check it out / rinse off after a day of handling fish and even doing some fish surgeries (inserting tags). This spring was the polar opposite of the crowded and crazy Ginnie and Ichetucknee springs. It is hidden off in a state park with very few signs. Granted, it was also the middle of the week rather than a weekend, but we only saw two other people at the park. I jumped in right away in my running shorts and sports bra (no bathing suit, no problem) and had the entire spring to myself. The water level was about 4 feet lower than usual because of the drought, but it didn't take away from the amazing 75 foot visibility all the way to the bottom. I wasn't able to free dive all the way to the bottom but did explore around for a while. I dove through an underpass in the rocks in the middle right of this picture and got immediately pushed down the spring run by the strong current flowing into the river. Because the water level was so low, I missed being able to explore the steamship wreck but will definitely go to this spring again to SCUBA dive and check out the wreck.