Canoeing the Peace River in Search of Megladon!

The days plan was to head east to Payne Creek Historic State Park. There we wanted to check out an rv park for future trips and to launch our canoe in the Peace River. We hoped to be able to dodge alligators while searching for sharks teeth and mammal bone, and even fossilized invertebrate remains.
The drive was only about seventy miles but it was amazing as we passed groves of oranges and fields filled with tomatoes and strawberries. You hear about all the fresh fruit and produce being grown here but it still doesn't sink in until you drive by miles and miles of groves and farms.
Arriving at Bowling Green, after checking out a nice rv park, we followed the signs to Payne Creek Historic State Park. There we paid the three bucks to get in and stopped at a deserted but open visitor center that told of life here during the Seminole War.

A short drive took us to the canoe launch site and we headed upstream for the fossil beds which were shown as being out of the park. The current wasn't to bad and we didn't see any alligators. The biggest obstacle was the snags from sunken cypress. The paddle was beautiful and it reminded me of the cypress trees and Spanish moss in Louisiana. Renita took images of a juvenile white ibis and a little blue heron waded nervously as we passed.
It didn't take long before we reached a rapids, formed as the river flowed over a limestone outcrop. Beaching the canoe, Renita pointed out the numerous fossil invertebrates and she soon had a bag bulging with the days treasures.

Jenny was the first to discover fossil bones and their were really quite a few, but we had to leave them as we didn't have the necessary permit. I had brought a shovel, for digging for sharks teeth, but we didn't have a sifting screen so we spent our time surface picking.
Time passed to quickly and we loaded back up and pushed the canoe into the fast water. Avoiding a nasty snag the float down river was really a gently passage under cypress and live oaks, all festooned with their long beards. Its amazing really, how fast you can retrace your steps when floating down stream and although we stopped and looked for finds we didn't add anything to our collection.

As we unloaded our canoe three people arrived in a small flat bottom boat. They were soaking wet and had several shovels and a huge screen for sifting debris. They kindly talked of their day wading in the river and sifting mud and even showed us their treasures, including a mammoth bone and a medium size fossil megladon tooth. He asked if we had found any teeth and he gave us several small ones from his fossil cache bag!
It always amazes us how kind people are and we have been blessed with meeting so many as we have traveled as full timers. Now we know that we need a sifter, a bigger shovel, and my chest waders! It was a good first day on the Peace River. Clear skies