USS Alabama

As indicated in my last blog, I have returned to Battleship Park in Mobile to actually tour the vessels.

USS Alabama was commissioned in August 1942 and earned 9 Battle Stars during WWII. The ship is 680 feet long and under battle conditions weighed in at 90 million pounds. In addition to the size of the ship and her guns, I was astounded at the maze of interior stairs (more like ladders) and passageways.

The sub, USS Drum, commissioned in November 1941, is 311 feet long and earned 12 Battle Stars during the war. I spent only a few minutes inside the sub. I am not claustrophobic, but there were only a few spots where I could stand fully erect.

Included in these photos are 2 shots of parts of my favorite aircraft the SR-71 or A-12, YF-12, or a number of other designations, depending on exact configuration and several other factors.

Battleship Memorial Park

After many years of visiting the area and traveling I-10 through Mobile an uncounted number of times, I figured it was high time to visit the Battleship Alabama. The park and displays are entirely created and funded by interested individuals, personal donations, and fees, not tax dollars. It is all quite impressive and must for anyone traveling in the area.

After threes hours of exploring the outdoor exhibits in record-breaking temps, I decided against the interior tour of the ship and the sub but will return again soon.

While surveying the B-52, I had the honor of meeting a fellow Air Force Vet who had served as Loadmaster on these beasts while serving in Guam at about the same time that I had seen many of these aircraft being deployed from Kadena AFB in Okinawa. Photos of just a portion of the displays can be seen here.

Photos from Pickens

As promised, today's entry is mostly to share the photos from two weeks spent at Fort Pickens near Pensacola Beach in the extreme NW section of Florida. In addition to the wanderings around the Fort and the surrounding area, there are also shots from the nearby Naval Live Oaks section of the Gulf Islands National Seashore as well as a visit across the Pensacola Bay to the Pensacola Light and Fort Barrancas, both of which are located within the Pensacola Naval Air Station. There are about 70 photos so you will want to allow some time and many of the pictures are captioned for some additional information. Click here.

HiWays, ByWays, PathWays, and WaterWays

With my apologies to everyone else, this entry will be mostly of interest to those of you who are at least somewhat familiar with this area, particularly if your latest trip was not all that recent. First, I was very surprised to discover that there is a whole new bridge under construction from Pensacola to Gulf Breeze.  It exactly parallels the existing bridge and seems to be moving along at quite a nice pace since I've seen real evidence of progress each time I've been there, even from the morning until evening.

Second, Fort Pickens road has evolved considerably since my last visit (and the storms that have hit here in the intervening period). If you've been here, you will remember that the road from the entrance to the Ranger Station (campground office) was pretty straight and largely centered between the Gulf and the Bay. That section of the road has been completely replaced and now has quite a number of sweeping curves and some near hairpins, some of which give an illusion of running right into the Bay. My guess here is that (1) the road is being kept much closer to the Bay, for the most part, and (2) there may be less impact of blowing sand. I'm thinking that these changes will diminish the impact of storms that have been a major problem here for years. Since my GPS apparently has not yet picked up the changes, following my progress on the screen shows me driving through the sand for much of the trip.

Third, it is one of my objectives to explore areas and seek viewpoints that are different from my 10 or so previous visits to Fort Pickens. I still have another week to go, but have already discovered a few paths that I didn't know about and are not charted in anything I have seen and I have every confidence that there are yet more to be discovered and I will keep you posted on that.

Finally, there is the matter of a ferry between Pensacola and the fort. We've been hearing about this for years and years, first as rumors, then with some concrete evidence (docks were built on both sides of the bay) and now it appears that we may be only a short time away from reality as some details are being worked out between the government and the ferry operator. I actually heard a news account of it a few days ago and it seems a start date had been set but is delayed, so time will tell.

Sorry, again no photos due to WiFi limits.

Another Visit to Fort Pickens

In the photo, a welcoming committee of one. It seems that there are more of these than usual this year, digging a lot of large holes, requiring care (and a flashlight) when walking about the area at night.

The plan is to be here at Fort Pickens for two weeks, which is a good thing since the first 5 days have brought a confluence of events that have largely precluded the intended activities here. For instance, a whole day of rain, wind and tornado warnings all over the place with 6 actual confirmed tornados in the surrounding area. Another thrill was, thanks to my less than expert skills in backing the 5th wheel trailer, a shattered rear window in the truck and the resultant hours spent in cleaning up most of the glass and this, of course, required the loss of another day of exploring due to a trip into Pensacola to have the window replaced.

There was still a bit of time available for a few short hikes, two shows by the Blue Angels and some sitting around enjoying the surroundings. There will be much more about this visit and photos, but probably not until the time here has expired and I have access to more than just a limited amount of WiFi time.

Along a Part of Florida's Big Bend

Traveling mostly on FL-361, known as Beach Road through this area, I went from Steinhatchee to Perry along the Big Bend Wildlife Management Area with some stops along the way in a Big Bend recreation area, Keaton Beach, and Dekle Beach.

While I would like to have spent a lot more time in the wildlife area, I was limited by the most predominant life form, mosquitos by the thousands. I could not spend more than a few minutes at a time out of the truck.

All of the towns along the way display ample evidence storm destruction, some of which will not be repaired or replaced.
Keaton Island was a really nice surprise, a fairly quaint little place with a small beach and not a whole lot of people. My photos can be seen here.

Everglades

Today I take you to the Florida Everglades.  This was pretty much a quick trip along I-75 and partly along US 41, the new and the old Alligator Alley, respectively. No, I did not see any 'gators, probably because I did not venture all that far from the beaten path. I did see thousands of Egrets, Cormorants, and Anhingas, as well as 2 Burmese pythons, one dead, and one large enough and moving that I decided that it was not in my best interest to get close enough for a photo. Beyond that, I saw only warning signs for panthers and bears. 

As I said, this was just a quick trip so you'll find only a limited number of photos here, but all the same, I am happy to have had the experience.

...and One More

Before leaving this immediate area, having heard good reports, I decided to present to you just one more spring along this part of the Suwannee.

Lafayette is another First Magnitude spring, this means it supplies water to the river in excess of 100 cubic feet per second! This spring is located almost directly across the river from Charles Spring which I reported on last week.

The park is very nicely maintained with all manner of trails, wooden walkways, pavilions, boat ramp, picnic areas, tent sites, cabins and more. In the photos, you will see some general views of the park, the spring, and the river. Look for another example of the tea color of the Suwannee and a turtle enjoying a swim in the spring. Click this link for the photos.

Yup, Another Spring

This visit was a bit more remote than earlier visits, not in terms of actual distance from my current location, but by virtue of the fact that Charles Springs can only be reached via several miles of unpaved roads. I'm never thrilled about exposing my truck to such conditions but given no alternative...

This is a 2nd Magnitude spring and if you've not been paying attention to earlier posts, this means that the spring produces a flow that is in excess of 6.46 million gallons of water per day. A notable aspect of this location is a pair of natural limestone bridges that cross the spring near the source which were created by the flow of the water. There is a run of about a couple hundred yards where the spring empties into (you guessed it) the Suwannee.

These photos include the spring, the run a trail to the river and, of course, the Suwannee. You will see a small beach where the tea color, due to the Okefenokee Swamp origin of the river, is evident.

No Springs Today

Instead of a spring, we see the result of all that spring water that feeds into the Suwannee River on the journey from the Okefenokee Swamp to the Gulf of Mexico. Depicted in the photo above is the Suwannee Delta area, one of the largest undeveloped river delta systems in the United States. As is evident in the photo, it is not possible to reach the shores of the Gulf in this area except by boat since the closest road ends in the town of Suwannee that can be seen in the upper center of the picture.

If you should have the chance to visit the town of Suwannee, I recommend the Salt Creek Restaurant for good food at reasonable prices and some nice views of the delta waters, some of which are included with these photos of the area. 

More Florida Springs

There are more than 720 hydrological springs in Florida so it would likely be a life-long endeavor to visit all of them. If you are interested in more information about these springs, use this link.

After over 10 years, this week included a return trip to Troy Springs, a 1st Magnitude spring which produces an average flow of 68.5 million gallons of water per day into the Suwannee River. The next visit was to the Ichetuknee Springs State Park where very nicely kept grounds and trails lead to several springs that feed the Ichetuknee River which ultimately feeds into the Santa Fe River which joins with the Suwannee before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico.
Photos can be found here.


This link is to my Troy Springs blog from December of 2007 and this link will take you to photos from that visit.

More Suwannee River Rendezvous

I have just a brief entry for you today. One of my readers requested photos of this RV park and although I had shared some from the more rustic side of the property in earlier posts, today I am showing the section where the larger RVs reside and I've thrown in a few more shots of the Suwannee River from another location as well. Click here for photos.

More Off the Beaten Path

Today's exploration took me through the Peacock Springs State Park, only a short distance from Mayo, FL, but considerably off the highway via a single lane dirt road with plenty of ruts and potholes. In addition to the spring itself and one of the largest cave complexes associated with such a spring, there is a nice trail that takes hikers on a path over the water-filled caverns below. I didn't hike the entire trail since I was not properly prepared, but most of these photos are of sights and signs along the part of the pathway that I did navigate.

More Along the Suwannee

The Suwannee through Spaghetti

Today's installment is just to share a few more views of this area along the Suwannee River. This stretch of the river is known to be home to some 'gators and snakes; however, there were none in evidence in this excursion.

This park is home to Convict Spring which does not have nearly the flow of other springs in the area, but you can read an interesting exploration account here.

Accommodations here include cabins and other larger living arrangements as well as full-service RV sites, sites with fewer utilities and primitive sites that include nothing but a spot for your tent, but are located right on the banks of the river.

Today's photos with captions can be found here.

More from Mayo

Suwanee River Rendezvous Resort and Campground is a bit unique among RV destinations in that part of it is a typical RV Park type layout, with rows of sites lined up side by side, but the other section is a wooded area with some cabins and sites more suited to tent camping and smaller campers. Located about 8 miles or so from the center of Mayo, the subject of my previous blog entry, the park, as the name implies, lies along the Suwannee River and there are canoes and kayaks available for exploring the slow moving river. A link is provided here to see more about the resort and this link will take you to today's photos of the area.

Rural Florida

When you think of Florida, do you picture the Atlantic Coast, the Gulf Coast, the Everglades, the Keys, or how about Disney and Universal? Certainly, those things are the public face of the state, but much of the state is rural and agricultural.

A few years ago we spent the Winter mostly in Frostproof which is at the center of the vast orange growing and processing industry and today I am reporting to you from an even more rural part of the state.  Mayo, FL, is the seat of Lafayette County and is the county's only municipality (pop. about 1200). There are two very small towns as well
with populations in the low hundreds and one ghost town.

This area is only a bit over 100 miles away from where we spent the first month of our RV adventures in 2007, Folkston, GA., and I have plans to revisit some of the same sites to see the effect of 10 years time.