Why Go "Way Down Upon the Suwannee River" at Chiefland, Florida

Chiefland, Florida is one of those no place in America sort of towns that provide a convenient headquarters for exploring a region. This area is a fun place to explore southern style porches, rocking chairs, folks that say "he-ah" and ""y'all", Spanish moss, bass fisherman and counties that are dry on Sunday. Stephen Foster made the Suwannee River famous with his song, "Old Folks at Home" written in 1851. Another point in time that the Suwannee shows up in history is as the place that John Muir contracted malaria. The river is fed by a number of fresh water springs (See Picture 1) that are home to Manatee and a good 400 species of birds in season. In fact, the geology of the region is quite unique with an underlying base from when Florida split from Gondwanaland, a fault line running offshore, additional collapse along the river path, and limestone piled up from centuries of ocean action laying down shell. It is a premier region for finding fossils.

Accessing the Suwannee River is a wildlife lover's delight and a fun place to swim, even with crocodiles reported in the waters. Swimming with the manatee is a treat. Many people go and have never run into trouble. Even dark water portions of the river where it is stained with tannin and the crocodiles prefer can provide fun relief from the heat.