**Campground Review **

Blue Springs State Park is known for it’s manatee sightings and this park did not disappoint! The park itself provides many opportunities for outdoor activities. There is a 4.5-mile hiking trail, biking trail, as well as water activities. There are two different parking lots, but both provide opportunities to reach the water and picnicking spots. Kayak and canoe rentals are available in the parking lot with the launch, while the main swimming area has a store and grill. 

We spent much of our time kayaking from the park’s canoe launch. Here, we were able to see tons of wildlife from all sorts of fish, alligators, and yes, a manatee! There is swimming in the park as soon as it opens, but you can only access the spring head and get into the clearer water before 11:00am and after 5pm. It is well worth it to go early as the park fills up fast and does get a bit noisy - we prefer the quiet nature sounds.  The manatee was there in the morning.  There is also a public boat launch just outside of the park.

We stayed in site 1 which was shaded and well spread out from the site next to use with plenty of vegetation in between. The camp host is very quick to respond and was very keen on his duty. The restrooms were newer looking and clean. However, there are only two stalls in the women’s restroom, so I did have to wait to get a shower in when I went. The only drawback I found from the campsite/campground area was the noise. There are train tracks near the state park, so hearing trains throughout the night(especially at 3am) was not what I’m looking for when I get out into nature. So bring ear plugs! 

Overall, the grounds were well kept, the staff takes their job seriously(in a good way), and there are many activities to do. The outdoor activities and many opportunities to see wildlife really impressed us with this park. We will definitely be back! 

Product Review 

As a Ranger for the Dyrt, I get to test products at this campground I tested the Morsel Spork and Morsel Spork XL. 

This spork is the utensil of my dreams and completes my dinner set up. I love the size of the smaller spork for my bowl, but I also love the XL version for my camping meals in the bag as it is long enough to fit in there perfectly. What I like the most: it can scrape like a spatula(and get all the good last bits in the bowl!), the way it feels in my hand compared to my previous spork, the ridges on the fork which can be used for cutting, it can be placed in boiling water(so it’s safe for my Jetboil), and is dishwasher safe(so I can sanitize and sterilize later). 

The only drawback was that the fork end would poke me in the hand at first, but once I got used to how to hold the handle it was completely fine.