Crews Lake is/was a good-sized lake the unfortunately dried up almost completely some years back. The cause of this was over pumping at the Cypress Creek Well Field, mostly due to a massive population growth in Pasco County, and the next county South. Why this was allowed. . . I don't want to get started on that subject!
But in the past few years, the lake has made something of a comeback. Will it last? Who knows? But while its here, I will take advantage of it. The park does have camping sites, and I've been told its "hammock friendly." It's also close enough to my house that I can do what has to be done around the house, then take off to the park and spend the night if I want to. What I'm not sure of just yet is if there are any campsites that are close enough to the water to camp from a boat. I think there used to be, but the water might not be high enough for that, now. I will find out.
Any way, on with the show!
Here's the boat, about to be unloaded at the ramp:
The next pic was actually taken the day before, when there was a much heavier overcast:
The pilings just about 20 feet out in the water are post cut from telephone poles. They were placed there when the lake dried up to keep the off-road crowd from tearing up the dried lake bottom. The water at the pilings is about 5 ft deep. The open area past them is around 10 ft deep, based on using my 12 ft push pole. The narrow channel on the other side is where I'm headed.
Below, I've crossed the first deep water and am in the narrow channel, where the water opens up again and gets deep enough to use the push pole as a stand-up paddle about half the time:
Off to one side (below,) you can see where there are patches of fairly open water, connected by narrow, shallow channels. And this goes on for quite a ways. The grassy-looking stuff is actually a terrestrial grass that has "adapted." Most of the dry land woody bushes and shrubs have died off and mostly decomposed. Various aquatic plants have spread all over the place. Nice crop of minnows in there, too.
Next pic shows a Lotus seed pod. The round pads are part of the lotus plant, whose rather larger roots are edible and a good source of starch. All lotus pads have this round, flat look. In shallower water, the pads are held high out of the water. I've seen them close to 10 ft. tall. A young lotus puts out its first pads and they float right at the surface. Usually, after the forth pad is floating, the next ones will be above the water, (unless it's too deep.) Native lotus have yellow blooms most commonly, but there are white ones in nature, as well. Any other colors are probably "renegades" from someone's water garden.
Ahead is all pole work. You can see where it starts to close in, and the large, open water ahead:
A view to the right, from the same position:
Now the squeeze is on. Here's where most of the paddle craft stop. That wall of grass up ahead is about 10 feet thick, between where I am now, and the open water ahead:
A quick look to the left, before breaking through to the open water:
Finally, into the open. And it was unbelievably easy!
On the way back to the ramp, I stopped to get a picture of some kind of nuphar, I think, most likely a Spatterdock.
The small, tight flower is characteristic of the plant, as is the large, arrow-shaped pad, floating flat on the surface.
While loading the boat back up, I ran across some "wildlife," For those up North that think of a gopher as being a small, furry animal, this is a gopher turtle:
It's NOT a swimmer and it lives in a burrow it digs, often with a couple of room mates, usually rattle snakes. This guy is strictly a vegetarian. It's also a protected species.
Took a few more shots on the way out, just to show why the non-boating public likes this park. Lots of bike trails, walking trails, and roller bladers like it too.
Plenty of shade, lots of squirrels:
There is so much of this:
Yep! I can see spending a lot of time here!
Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL
But in the past few years, the lake has made something of a comeback. Will it last? Who knows? But while its here, I will take advantage of it. The park does have camping sites, and I've been told its "hammock friendly." It's also close enough to my house that I can do what has to be done around the house, then take off to the park and spend the night if I want to. What I'm not sure of just yet is if there are any campsites that are close enough to the water to camp from a boat. I think there used to be, but the water might not be high enough for that, now. I will find out.
Any way, on with the show!
Here's the boat, about to be unloaded at the ramp:
The next pic was actually taken the day before, when there was a much heavier overcast:
The pilings just about 20 feet out in the water are post cut from telephone poles. They were placed there when the lake dried up to keep the off-road crowd from tearing up the dried lake bottom. The water at the pilings is about 5 ft deep. The open area past them is around 10 ft deep, based on using my 12 ft push pole. The narrow channel on the other side is where I'm headed.
Below, I've crossed the first deep water and am in the narrow channel, where the water opens up again and gets deep enough to use the push pole as a stand-up paddle about half the time:
Off to one side (below,) you can see where there are patches of fairly open water, connected by narrow, shallow channels. And this goes on for quite a ways. The grassy-looking stuff is actually a terrestrial grass that has "adapted." Most of the dry land woody bushes and shrubs have died off and mostly decomposed. Various aquatic plants have spread all over the place. Nice crop of minnows in there, too.
Next pic shows a Lotus seed pod. The round pads are part of the lotus plant, whose rather larger roots are edible and a good source of starch. All lotus pads have this round, flat look. In shallower water, the pads are held high out of the water. I've seen them close to 10 ft. tall. A young lotus puts out its first pads and they float right at the surface. Usually, after the forth pad is floating, the next ones will be above the water, (unless it's too deep.) Native lotus have yellow blooms most commonly, but there are white ones in nature, as well. Any other colors are probably "renegades" from someone's water garden.
Ahead is all pole work. You can see where it starts to close in, and the large, open water ahead:
A view to the right, from the same position:
Now the squeeze is on. Here's where most of the paddle craft stop. That wall of grass up ahead is about 10 feet thick, between where I am now, and the open water ahead:
A quick look to the left, before breaking through to the open water:
Finally, into the open. And it was unbelievably easy!
On the way back to the ramp, I stopped to get a picture of some kind of nuphar, I think, most likely a Spatterdock.
The small, tight flower is characteristic of the plant, as is the large, arrow-shaped pad, floating flat on the surface.
While loading the boat back up, I ran across some "wildlife," For those up North that think of a gopher as being a small, furry animal, this is a gopher turtle:
It's NOT a swimmer and it lives in a burrow it digs, often with a couple of room mates, usually rattle snakes. This guy is strictly a vegetarian. It's also a protected species.
Took a few more shots on the way out, just to show why the non-boating public likes this park. Lots of bike trails, walking trails, and roller bladers like it too.
Plenty of shade, lots of squirrels:
There is so much of this:
Yep! I can see spending a lot of time here!
Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL