My plan to visit Ray Wayside Park was a failure. Instead I became enchanted by the Eureka Bridge, lost in its many kept secrets and stories available only to those who pause and listen. This post is a reflection on the Eureka Bridge and the many structures of the Ocklawaha River.

I followed the Ocklawaha River from State Road 19 in Palatka, Florida, to the County Road 316 Bridge in Eureka, tracing the route of the long abandoned Cross Florida Barge Canal project. This is the first in what I hope becomes a series dedicated to the Ocklawaha River.

The Ocala National Forest was recently listed on National Geographic’s Best of the World 2025, a list compiling the 25 best places in the world to visit. Jenny and I drove our Kayaks to Silver Springs State Park, located in the Ocala National Forest, and paddled the Silver River.

I spent the summer shooting exclusively on Kodak Gold 200 and my Hasselblad 500cm.

I spent two days camping in the Florida Everglades with my Fuji X100V.

We kayak camped along the Ocklawaha River in a storm while sick.

With a rare morning to myself, I kayaked a section of the Ocklawaha River and created a video of the adventure.

It was midday and 95 degrees with scattered thunderstorms forecasted throughout the afternoon. The conditions were perfect for a lot to go wrong.

It was the 4:15 a.m. alarm that finally succeeded in yanking me from the silence. I rolled out of bed and onto my feet.