Touring the Crystal River, FL area with my parents

I just love Crystal River!; I swam in search of manatees late one day and found only 3 (the manatees stay out feeding in the Gulf until the water temperature gets colder than 72)

I found a mom and calf that let me hang around them; the weather was better when my parents and I visited Crystal River in February 2016

I had never been to Manatee Springs State Park (it's an hour north of Crystal River); we followed the boardwalk from Manatee Springs to where it entered the Suwanee River

The city of Cedar Key has a population of only 702; the Cedar Keys are named for the eastern red cedar, once abundant in the area

I didn't expect to find an Atlantic stingray in Three Sisters Springs!; the only permanent freshwater population of Atlantic stingrays is in the St. John's River in NE Florida

The water was gushing at Three Sisters Springs but there wasn't a single manatee there; it now costs $20 just to visit the boardwalk surrounding the springs

There were plenty of fish in Three Sisters Springs; the current from the springs makes for a good swim workout as you enter Three Sisters from the canal

In addition to kicking up silt, you really don't want to stand up in the canals of Crystal River; the water temperature didn't feel bad at all, even without a wetsuit

Anhingas stalk fish underwater, mainly where there is some flora present; once they locate their prey, they partly open their bill and stab the fish swiftly

Manatee Springs releases an astounding 100 million gallons of water daily!; it is surrounded by a majestic cypress forest

The limpkin's (also called the crying bird) common vocalization is a loud wild wail or scream with some rattling quality; this species inhabits freshwater marshes and swamps from Florida to northern Argentina

Manatee Springs State Park only costs $6 per car admission; you could swim only in Manatee Springs and could kayak from the Springs out into the Suwanee River

Early in his career as a naturalist, John Muir walked 1,000 miles from Louisville, Kentucky to Cedar Key in just two months in 1867; Muir contracted malaria while working in a sawmill in Cedar Key, and recovered in the house of the mill's superintendent.