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.
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.
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.
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.
