Ep 50: Exploring the Manatee Capital: A Deep Dive into Crystal River

Larry Aldrich: 00:00:06

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Larry Aldrich: 00:00:43

Welcome back to Aqua Talk, sponsored by Branches Technology LLC and Xeniq. We're here for the next few days at Destination Florida in Bradenton. We will be speaking with Quite a few DMOs.

Stay tuned for a lot of good conversations coming up. Thanks. Welcome back to Aqua Talks. We're here at Destination Florida.

We're visited today with Nick Popham, marketing and Content manager for Discover Crystal River. How you doing, Nick?

Nick Popham: 00:01:07

I'm doing great, thanks.

Larry Aldrich: 00:01:08

I'm sorry, I completely screwed that up, Nick. I'm talking to so many people all the time.

Nick Popham: 00:01:12

I know. I'm sure you've been inundated today.

Narrator: 00:01:14

Oh yeah.

Larry Aldrich: 00:01:14

But I'm having a great time meeting a lot of people as we usually do on these conferences. We were talking earlier about Etourism and you said you haven't been there yet. It's great, Great conference also.

Nick Popham: 00:01:23

Absolutely.

Larry Aldrich: 00:01:25

And we'll jump a little bit into that. But let's, let's hear a little bit about what you do at Crystal river and talk a little about Discover Crystal River.

And before you go there, I want to just say I'm friends with AIs. I was looking, I was looking to see him. I'm great to meet you. Great to meet you. Always looking forward to seeing Office.

Nick Popham: 00:01:42

I know I'm the second string. When AIs can't make it to things, they'll push me in. But it's very nice to meet you and thanks so much for having me on.

Prior to the position I was in now, I was a TV reporter for about 10 years and kind of bounced around the country. Originally from Southern California and eventually made my way here to Florida and it's absolutely spectacular.

And fell in love with Crystal river as soon as I got the opportunity to become the marketing and content manager. My role is specifically focused on our social media and our visual branding.

Coming from that TV news background, a lot of videography I've done over the years has helped translate into kind of producing the content for our YouTube channel as well as our Instagram and Facebook page.

So we've really tried to enhance our online profile and really showcase our destination to a lot of folks, whether it's through interacting with influencers or just having our own organic content that really resonates with a lot of people. Being Crystal river, we have the copyright manatee capital of the world.

And when you're the manatee capital of the world, manatees are the center focus of so much of what you do. And a lot of our content focuses on those manatees and they are absolutely spectacular.

It's my, it's my favorite thing whenever I get to get in the water and interact with those guys. They're the best.

Larry Aldrich: 00:02:55

I've been through Crystal River a few times, but going back to social media a little, I noticed recently Crystal river kind of went on a tour about talking to travelers about visiting Crystal River. I noticed on offices pages, which is Crystal River's page, he, you know, he shows that's a lot of content. Office gets out there a lot himself.

So you want to talk a little bit about that tour that I'm sure most of your team did, not just Office, but I see a lot of.

Nick Popham: 00:03:24

What Office does well, whether it's going out of our destination to try and talk with different vendors or different influencers who are interested in the travel space and making their way to Florida and going to a place like the Nature coast where Crystal river is also within our destination.

We like to make those tours around and go visit some of our partners and visit different people who may not know exactly what we do as, you know, a DMO as a tourism body.

So to be able to kind of learn from all these different folks of what they're interested in and being able to tie that back in with what we do as an organization has been really gratifying.

I know that Az has made his way up to D.C. where he's talking with legislators and putting Crystal river on the map with some of our top lawmakers or making their way to Houston or Dallas. My colleague Terry was in Houston and Dallas for a couple of different events and showcasing Crystal River.

I know I made my way to Disney World and talked with folks in the social media space. So we're constantly going all over the place.

It's pretty neat to be able to see Crystal river and Citrus county, the county we represent in Florida that's only about 170,000 people. Make a name for itself in places like Germany, like Texas, like New York City, D.C. all over the place. It's been been.

It's been really cool to be able to be a part of that journey. And we're a pretty small team. We just expanded to the massive number of eight.

So we're, we're a small team, but we, we pack above our weight for sure.

Larry Aldrich: 00:04:52

I'm a part of the Florida destination community, travel community. I'm 100% part of that team. And I'm still a traveler, though. I still come from other states when I come to Florida.

I travel a lot of places in Florida and I love it here. I'm here a lot. Tell me why I should come to Crystal river and when. Chris, what's waiting for me in Crystal River. Like, I love outdoors.

I love, you know, and I watch a lot of National Geographic, so I love animals. I love, you know, animals in nature. So tell me a little bit about Crystal river and, you know, heat up the reason why I should visit more.

Nick Popham: 00:05:31

The cool thing about the last kind of couple sentences you said you could replace that with I love Crystal river because all those things are Crystal river, where the nature coast of Florida and the manatee capital of the world. What does that mean? It means most of our area is that old Florida feel of nature.

You aren't going and seeing Cinderella Castle or you're not going to South Beach. You're going to a place where you feel like no one has ever been here before because it's untouched and it's beautiful.

What I love about our place is not only the manatees, which are just spectacular.

I like to say we're one of the only places in Florida that loves it when it's cold, because when it's cold, thousands of manatees make their way to Kings Bay and Crystal river and come to our natural springs because our spring water remains 72 degrees all year round. So whether it's 30 degrees outside or it's 100 degrees outside, it's going to stay 72 in those crystal clear spring waters.

So you're either going to warm up like a hot tub or cool down no matter what time of year. So it's always nice to be able to get in the water and interact with those incredible mammals that are just unlike anything.

I had never interacted with manatees before until I started this job and now they're my favorite animal because it's such a game changing experience.

Some people say it's almost like a spiritual experience when you're around them because they're so docile, they're so lovable and they're so curious about who we are. I know some would like chew on my beard as I'm passively observing them and that type of stuff you just don't get anywhere else.

There are a lot of places Around Florida, where you could have a similar experience. Right. You could go and do a sunset cruise, or you could swim with dolphins, or you can do a lot of different things.

There's only one place in Florida where you can swim with manatees, and it's Crystal River.

Larry Aldrich: 00:07:15

Wow. I didn't know that.

Nick Popham: 00:07:17

Yeah. We're the only place in the United States where you can swim with manatees in Crystal river.

And then in Homosassa, which is the neighboring community that's just south of Crystal River. Both of those places. An incredible place to swim with manatees because it's crystal clear water. You feel like you're in a swimming pool.

Larry Aldrich: 00:07:32

Yeah. So do they have boat tours? And if they do, do the boats have to stay a certain distance away?

Nick Popham: 00:07:38

Yeah. What's really cool about an initiative my colleague Terry has started recently, we started this program called the Eco Compliant Partnership.

And Eco compliance and caring for the manatees is our top priority, because a lot of people, when they think of swimming with manatees, there could be negative connotations to that. And we want to take that away by showing that we're doing things the right way.

And with that Eco Compliant Partnership, it shows that the tour companies that are doing things the right way, what does that mean? As you mentioned, tour operators, they go out on boats.

You'll get on a boat, you'll put on a wetsuit for buoyancy, and you'll go out on these boats and go into these natural spring waters. Those boats are going to remain far away from where the manatees are.

They have these power pole anchors that make sure the seagrass, which is the food that manatees eat, don't get pulled out of the. Out of the ground so it keeps their food source alive and still there.

There's all these different steps that they take to be a part of this program to showcase why manatees are so important to us. Because when you're the manatee capital of the world, you don't want that prized possession to leave your water to go away.

Or at one point, manatees were close to being extinct.

And thanks to the hard work that organizations like Save Crystal river have done and other organizations in our state that want to preserve that amazing creature, the population has skyrocketed in a great way. And they make their way to Crystal river every winter. And, I mean, the pictures that I could show you is just incredible.

viral content is when you see: 1500

And yeah, as you mentioned, get on the boat, you go out, you have that experience, you get back in the boat, get some hot chocolate or a manatee mocha, as we like to call it, which is coffee and hot chocolate combined pretty perfect, and you have a pretty incredible morning.

Larry Aldrich: 00:09:31

Okay, now, and I know you're not a, you know, a PhD, holding a scientific degree or. But you might know some things. What draws the manatees to the same place every. Every year.

Nick Popham: 00:09:42

Sure. So I know the. The biggest misconception I think of manatees are, oh, they're fat. They're. They're kind of blubbery creatures. They have no body fat.

They have barely any body fat. What it is, is their skin, which is a little bit of that, then their fat, which is about that much. The rest is bone. So they're just big.

They're literally big bone. So. Which is. Is always that kind of misconception. People don't know about manatees because of that, because they don't have much body fat.

They get cold easily.

Larry Aldrich: 00:10:12

Yeah.

Nick Popham: 00:10:12

So during the winter, right, when it's, you know, 40 or 50 degrees, those freezing Florida winters that get to 60 degrees, who could believe it when it gets that cold? For the manatees who spend most of their time in the Gulf, where that's where most of their food sources, they get cold really easily.

So cold, stress, hypothermia, those things really take effect really quickly for them. So why do they make their way to Crystal River? What I mentioned earlier, those natural spring waters stay 72 degrees all year round.

They're there to keep warm. So they're huddled together and they're all in those waters to stay warm. And so they go to Crystal river.

And that's why they go to a lot of other places in Florida. I know in Tampa, their electric co op has a plant right by the water, and it emits warm, it emits heat. So manatees go over there as well.

But in Crystal river, you get to go right near them and passively observe them from the water.

Larry Aldrich: 00:11:04

First time I ever seen a manatee, years ago, I was in St. Augustine, Florida, and I almost panicked when I saw it come to the top of the water. I'm like, what is that?

Nick Popham: 00:11:13

it's terrifying. They're like: 1500

They have no natural born predators. They have. The most difficult thing they have to deal with are propellers from boats and humans.

Those are the two top things that can injure a manatee. Aside from that, sharks don't care about them and then they don't care about us.

They just think we're all big manatees and they just want to be on what's this guy about? So they'll go. I remember saying the first time I saw manatee, I was terrified. I was like, oh, my gosh, it's coming right toward me.

It went right under me and hugged me from under and just like hugged me. And I was like, can I live here? This is the best experience of my life.

So they take away all those preconceived notions that you might have, and it makes you want to get back in the water over and over and over again.

Larry Aldrich: 00:12:02

So for someone that loves to travel, loves Florida, wants to be outdoors and, and indoors, there's so much more in Crystal river than just manatee. As you mentioned, the springs, the 46 mile paved walkway. Am I correct with that?

Nick Popham: 00:12:16

That's correct. Yeah. That's over on the eastern part of our county.

Narrator: 00:12:19

Okay.

Nick Popham: 00:12:19

That is the Withlacoochee State Trail. And it is so neat. So one of the main towns it goes through is Inverness. And that's their slogan is small town done right.

USA Today, I think this year ranked them the number two best small town in the South. Okay. And they really have a ton of things to offer.

Not only that trail where if you're a biking enthusiast or you love to go on a good walk, it gives you that paved trail with some canopy trees that hang over that just make it such a tranquil environment. Even when it's hot in July, you can go in the morning and feel incredible throughout that entire ride. So you have that.

toric courthouse where in the: 1960

And a lot of Elvis enthusiasts make their way to Inverness because he was in a movie that was filmed at this courthouse in the dead center of the town square there, and some great restaurants and breweries there as well.

So if you're a foodie or if you're an outdoors person, you get all of those things in an incredible small town that's within walking distance to everything. You don't have to hop in a car to go from one place to another. You just hop your bike off the trail and you're at a restaurant from.

Larry Aldrich: 00:13:28

A Sporting viewpoint other than biking, do you ever. I don't even know if the town allows it or if the community allows it.

They ever have like 5Ks there or any type of races on that trail where I know it's kind of narrow. It's not like in the street, where you're going to have to just think something like that would draw in the runners or the walkers or the bikers.

Nick Popham: 00:13:48

Sure. I know we're. I know we've had bike races before on the trail.

The specific ones, I'm not entirely sure, but I know that we're in talks or in consideration of maybe starting a 5k in Crystal river or doing something like that.

Larry Aldrich: 00:14:01

The Crystal River 5K?

Nick Popham: 00:14:02

Yeah, I just coined it. It's perfect. Rolls off the top. But we've been. We've been talking a lot about those types of races because we have so many trails there.

The Withlacoochee State Trail is kind of like our big banner one, but there are so many just within Crystal river or in Houmasusa, which is just south of Crystal River. There are walking trails around there. Our beaches. We have a beach that's right out to the Gulf that you can walk around.

I mean, there's so many different places where you can go around. We embody the nature coast in so many different ways, as you've mentioned. But yeah, there's.

There's a multitude of things that we've been kind of considering to get more into the sportsy space. Being an outdoors community.

I know that, like, fishing is so big there, especially out in the Gulf, or whether you're inland, doing that kind of in the flats, going out to the Gulf, a lot of fishing takes place there. So a lot of people, whether you want to fish or you want to just go and do some swimming, you can have a multitude of things.

Larry Aldrich: 00:14:54

Can you kayak on those clear waters?

Nick Popham: 00:14:57

You can. So outside of manatee season.

Larry Aldrich: 00:14:59

Okay, so.

Nick Popham: 00:14:59

So. Well, for. Let me clarify. So manatee season happens from November 15th to March 31st.

Larry Aldrich: 00:15:06

Okay.

Nick Popham: 00:15:07

It's an arbitrary calendar. Like, the manatees don't have a calendar, so they can come in at any point. And fish and wildlife can change that.

But for the most part, that time frame for places like Three Sisters Springs, which is kind of our Hollywood sign, if you will, of a destination for people to visit when you want to see manatees, crystal clear water and Crystal river, you go to three sister springs. That spring gets closed to people in the water and kayakers during manatee season.

But outside of manatee season, Kayakers can go in, paddle boarders can go in, and you can swim in there. And it's fantastic.

Larry Aldrich: 00:15:40

So that spring where the water's just crystal clear, when you look at it, a picture, you're actually thinking, is that real? So that's in Crystal River.

Nick Popham: 00:15:49

Yes. So that's it. There's three specific ones that meet that criteria.

In Crystal river you have three sister springs, which is, as I mentioned, that kind of popular one that we have an above ground boardwalk that you can go around.

There's Jurassic Spring, which, you know, even though I wish dinosaurs were there, I'm not sure why Jurassic Spring is called that, but it's a beautiful spring also crystal clear. And then there's another one that literally looks like the backyard of a pool called House Spring.

And that one is a newly brought up spring where we were able to clear some of the algae that was at the bottom and showcase this beautiful, beautiful water that again, you're like, how can this be real? This is crystal clear. I was shocked. I'd never seen water this clear. Then further south in Homosassa, there's a place called Seven Sister Springs.

If you want an incredible day. Seven Sister Springs in Houmasassa, near the Chassahowitzka River. You get a kayak, you go in there.

Not only is it crystal clear water, cave channels that you can swim through. Okay, swim through these caves. The natural spring water, 72 degrees.

I went with all of us and one of my other colleagues, I want to say, two weeks ago, and you had to like force us to go back to work. We were like, please, can we just live here? I don't want to go anywhere. It's so incredible. And again, trees canopying over.

During the week, weekdays there can be a few more people out there, but like, if you have a Wednesday off and you want to go in there, it's like your own private pool.

Larry Aldrich: 00:17:13

Yeah. There's so many hidden gems in Florida and I never experienced half of them until I started spending time down here.

And Crystal river is one of them, which I looked for. Forward to it. And I hope everyone looks forward to going to Crystal river, visiting, seeing some of these things.

And it, Florida just doesn't have to be about the beaches, right? Doesn't have to just be about the fishing or the big cities. Crystal River's an excellent destination.

I've driven through, haven't seen half of what you mentioned yet, but I've seen some. And I'm continuing to, to travel around Florida and see where I can spend a lot of Time.

And obviously, those that are viewing our podcast are hearing a lot more about these hidden gems in Florida, and we're really trying to get that out there as much as possible.

Nick Popham: 00:17:57

That's great.

Larry Aldrich: 00:17:57

And Crystal river is definitely one of them. Definitely. Especially just when I brought up earlier about. Is it that when you see all the pictures of that really clear water, that Crystal River?

Because every time I've seen those videos and those pictures, it never said where it was at.

Nick Popham: 00:18:15

Well, that's my job as the content person is.

Larry Aldrich: 00:18:18

It was a while ago.

Nick Popham: 00:18:19

Is to let everyone know, hey, you see this crystal clear water that you could swim in Crystal River, Florida, and it's a short drive away. It's only like A. It's 60 miles away from Tampa.

You fly into Tampa International Airport, it's just a straight hour right up the parkway, and you're in Crystal River. It's a short. It's shorter to go from Tampa to Crystal river than Tampa to Orlando.

Larry Aldrich: 00:18:37

Wow.

Nick Popham: 00:18:38

So you have a shorter drive and a arguably better time, in my opinion.

Larry Aldrich: 00:18:43

Before we go, let us know a little bit more about that wildlife refuge.

Nick Popham: 00:18:47

Yeah.

Larry Aldrich: 00:18:47

Because I'm a wildlife fan. I watch a lot of, you know, National Geographic and Discover, and I'm. I'm an enthusiast.

So I want to come to Crystal river to see your wildlife refuge. What would you tell me?

Nick Popham: 00:19:00

So, the Homasassa Springs park, or, sorry, the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State park, an incredible refuge.

We have not only these enclosures for different animals from Florida, but then you have this underwater observatory where you're able to go in and see incredible fish in the crystal clear water. During manatee season. The manatees come right up. They boop on the glass. It's the best. And lots of walking trails around there.

And it's not too expensive to get in. It's only a few dollars.

And they really take some great care of some of the animals and do what they can to make sure they preserve a lot of the wildlife in that area.

And then in Crystal river, the Manatee Wildlife Refuge, their sole purpose is to want to protect these manatees and educate everyone on the importance of these creatures and why we love them so much and what we need to do to preserve them for years and years to come.

So there's that preservation on top of that educational aspect, and then the entertainment as well, of being able to experience it yourself, for lack of a better term, edutainment.

Larry Aldrich: 00:20:00

Yeah.

Nick Popham: 00:20:01

So what's really cool with our manatee tour operators is they will do a lot of education with Your swim tour. So you're not just going out there like a theme park to be like, hey, okay, we're out here. Go hop in the water and spend time with manatees.

Most of our eco compliant.

No, all of our eco compliant partners, they will have an educational component ahead of time where you're watching a video from Fish and Wildlife about proper manatee manners. What's the right thing to do in the water when passively observing manatees showcasing? Kind of why I know so much is because of our tour operators.

Larry Aldrich: 00:20:34

Yeah.

Nick Popham: 00:20:34

Because each time I go on a tour, they have that full educational background to teach you about these creatures. So you have a. You have a better appreciation and you're more committed to making sure you're doing things the right way when you're in the water.

So even on the things where you're like, I was going out to have fun, but I learned so much in the process, that's the bread and butter of Crystal River. It's having fun, but you're learning a ton at the same time.

Larry Aldrich: 00:20:58

I want to go really quick. What's demanded of the. Where you can go watch the fish underwater?

Nick Popham: 00:21:03

Sure. The Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park.

If I were doing any type of, like, auctioneering, it might be a little difficult to understand. But Homosassa Springs Wildlife State park, if you go there, it's just south of Crystal river on Highway 19.

If you're making your way to that area, it's. It's an incredible place. Really, really pretty.

Narrator: 00:21:25

Okay.

Nick Popham: 00:21:25

And a neat park. And again, that other underwater observatory is second. And they just replaced the glass, I want to say, within the last year or two. So it's.

It's a real, real treat.

Narrator: 00:21:34

Okay.

Larry Aldrich: 00:21:35

Yeah. So before we go, what's happening in your destination that visitors might not know that you think they should know currently?

Nick Popham: 00:21:43

Sure. So since we're filming right now in the spring, we've just ended our manatee season.

Now there's still 50 to 100 manatees that are in Crystal river all year round. So even if you aren't humanity season, but you still want to go see them, you have the chance to do so.

So that's some misnomer that some people have where they're like, oh, well, I won't be able to see them. Not necessarily true. So that's a cool thing to do. But in the summer, we have the start of scallop season.

Larry Aldrich: 00:22:07

Okay.

Nick Popham: 00:22:08

And I don't know if you've heard of scallopsies or if you've done scalloping at all. It'll eat them.

And, well, you can do the whole experience from picking them from the water and then cooking them in Crystal river and you can eat what you caught. So it's like the coolest treasure hunt. If you want to go on an amazing treasure hunt, you go out with our tour operators. They go out into the Gulf.

You put on your goggles and your snorkel and you go and you dive down and try to capture some of these scallops. You're the ones who capture them. You put them in a bag, you take them back and they cook them there for you.

And you're having scallops for lunch that you just caught.

Larry Aldrich: 00:22:41

Unfortunately, it's a lot cheaper than going to the grocery store to get scalloped right now.

Nick Popham: 00:22:45

Yeah, yeah.

Larry Aldrich: 00:22:46

And a lot more fun.

Nick Popham: 00:22:47

Yeah, exactly. And the experience makes it all worth it when you're paying for that. But that's our. That's when.

When we're out of manatee season, we get so excited for scallop season because that happens in July. Runs through September.

Larry Aldrich: 00:22:57

I'm going scalloping as you need to. There's just so many fun things to do down here.

Nick Popham: 00:23:01

Oh, my gosh. Yeah.

Larry Aldrich: 00:23:03

And Crystal river definitely has a lot to offer. Nick, thanks for joining us.

Nick Popham: 00:23:06

I appreciate you. Thank you so much. Tell office I said hello without a doubt.

Larry Aldrich: 00:23:10

I'll see him soon.

Nick Popham: 00:23:11

Sounds good.

Larry Aldrich: 00:23:12

Thanks.

Narrator: 00:23:17

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