Ancient Dunes Trail

As we slowly moved up the Atlantic coast of Florida, we stopped near St. Augustine.  Just outside of that city, there’s a lovely state park, called Anastasia State Park.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t camp there (campground was full), but there was a nice trail that we could wander down with Max.

At first, I thought we might see a number of wildflowers on this trail, because I was teased with this pretty little bloom!  Still, it was worth highlighting this little gem!

The trail was called the Ancient Dunes Trail and led through a number of old sand dunes that were formed by wind and wave action.  This happened many, many years ago, when the ocean extended much further inland than it does today.  Right now, this trail is nowhere close to the ocean!  Due to the process of vegetation dying, decomposing and enriching the soil, there’s now a forest here, and not sandy dunes.

There are a number of oak trees here and their twisting branches creates quite the interesting image!  It was such a dense forest, we couldn’t see what we were next to.  At one point, we think we heard the campers going about making camp, sitting outside chatting, etc.  However, we couldn’t quite catch a real look at them – so close, yet so far away!

Long ago, the only plants that would have been here were beach plants that served to stabilize the dunes so that they didn’t wash away into the sea.  This area was along the Atlantic coast.  After a time, different varieties of plants, such as this palm, began to establish themselves.

As the ocean receded, shrubs and then trees like this one, were able to be established.  Today, this is considered a maritime forest.  And, now, we have resurrection ferns growing on the trees.  Right now, the ferns are very vibrant, and interestingly, is not a parasite and doesn’t hurt the tree.  During dry times, this fern will dry up to a brown mass and looks to be dead.  But, just add rain, and they will be green again!

Although this wasn’t a long walk (about 30 minutes), I took longer than that, as I kept stopping to check out potential photo ops.  Max got quite tired of my lollygagging, and ended up just laying down to wait for me!

It only seems appropriate to end this post as I began it, with a lovely woodland bloom.  I found this quote and it seemed to really fit for our time in these woods and for this image.

Enjoy!

Canaveral National Seashore

From the high-tech to the un-tech – that sort of describes the difference of having the super high-tech world of NASA overlapping the absolutely un-tech world of Canaveral National Lakeshore and the wildlife refuge right next to it.  It’s an amazing place to visit, and my brain had a hard time thinking of all the rockets, etc., being built, assembled and launched just a short little ways down the shoreline.

The road along the Seashore had several stops where we could park our Jeep, and take a board walk over the sand dunes to see the shoreline.  It was amazing to me that so few people, relatively speaking, were enjoying the beach.  I also loved the plants growing on the dunes – so glad someone had enough foresight to protect them from folks like us, who would unwittingly trample and kill them.  I think it would also be quite the front-row seat to any sort of launch from the Space Center, just down the beach from here.

There were also shorebirds that were enjoying themselves, looking for food, along the shore.  They seemed to be totally absorbed in their task, but they did keep an eye out for people, and would scatter when someone got too close, only to reconvene a bit further down the way!

It was that time of year in Florida – the prickly pear cactus were in full bloom!  I’m always surprised to see how this particular cactus seem to be at home both in the desert climate, where we live, and here, in very warm, humid weather!  I always thought cactus liked it dry – I guess they are very versatile!  

As we drove along, the seashore was initially on our right.  However, if we looked above us or to the right, we caught a glimpse of what there was to see in the wildlife refuge next to it.  The heron was happily perched atop some dead branches of a tree, and the eagle found the power line pole to his liking!

As we left the seashore and headed into the wildlife refuge, birds really began to make their appearance.  I loved how wonderfully alone the egret in the lower image was – in such a lovely paradise!  And, I was especially thrilled to be able to capture an ibis in flight (top image) – I’d never seen that before! 

We also got to see a different type of “bird” – although it was a reminder of how close we were to “civilization”, none of the wildlife was phased when one of these birds would fly by on a training flight of some sort.

We found a lovely little dirt road in the wildlife refuge that took us along Black Point Drive.  It was a small loop drive, but full of wildlife!  We came along different birds than we’d seen before, calming looking for lunch, oblivious to the jet overhead.

And, of course, it’s Florida, so there were more gators!  I especially like the top image, where you can see how most of the gator is underwater – sort of reminds me of an iceberg!

The road we were driving on was very scenic, although I never lost sight of the fact that in those still waters, gators could be found!  It was also remarkably quiet – one could easily forget that a city – and space center – were just a short drive away!

And, I will leave you with this last view of nature at its calming best.  This lovely egret nestled serenely in the branches of a low shrub, growing right along the shore of a pond.

Enjoy!

Visiting a Remote National Park – Dry Tortugas

The main reason we decided to visit the Florida Keys again was Dry Tortugas National Park. This National Park is a rather remote one – it’s located about 70 miles off Key West.  There are two ways to get there – by plane or by boat, with approved carriers.  We opted for the boat – ferry.  It took about 2 ½ hours each way to reach Fort Jefferson, which is the heart of Dry Tortugas, on Garden Key, one of the farthest island of the Florida Keys.

We took off early in the morning from Key West.  The day promised overcast skies, with a chance of rain, but it made for a lovely scene taking off.  One may wonder why there is a fort built so far from the mainland.  One of the reasons Fort Jefferson was constructed where it was is that there are shallow waters around it, and that made for a strategic refuge for ships traveling from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

Seeing us off were some water birds – in this case, pelicans and seagulls or petrels.  It always amazes me when I see them fly across 70 miles of sea safely.  In history, before the building of Fort Jefferson began, maritime sailors used this area as safe harbor while transporting cargo and riches from the Mississippi River back to the Atlantic and then on to home, in Europe.

Approaching Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson, we could see that the fort truly encompasses just about the entire island.  It was a quick and easy docking and then we were off to explore.  And, due to the limited number of people who could be at the Park at one time, it was almost like we had the entire island, and National Park to ourselves and those on board our ferry boat.  Yes, there is another boat at the dock, but it was a National Park Service (NPS) boat, and not one that carried any tourists.

We decided to explore the outside of the Fort first.  Jeff thought it would be pretty neat to walk around the outside of the Fort on the moat wall.  In one area, the beach area next to the moat sort of encroached the moat wall.  Just off that beach area was a small area set aside for those folks who had camping passes.  Before we boarded the boat, back in Key West, I talked to a woman who was planning a 3-day camping trip, along with her husband.  She explained that they needed to bring ALL the supplies that they would need for the 3 days, as there’s no food vendor, fresh water, etc.  There is a boathouse near the camping area where the campers could use the restrooms and showers.  That bathhouse is truly there just for the campers.  They indicated that folks from the boat could use the showers to rinse off after snorkeling, but asked us to only use the restrooms on our boat.  The Dry Tortugas were given the name “dry” to indicate to others that there wasn’t and still isn’t naturally occurring fresh water on the island.

So, Jeff started off walking the moat wall.  However, when he got to the far end of one wall, he found that the moat wall was gone for a significant section – too large of a span to attempt to jump over.  I guess either Mother Nature or the NPS determined the Fort should not be walked around!

I previously mentioned the beach area next to the moat.  Here’s a look at the lovely turquoise water that surrounded Fort Jefferson and Garden Key.  Originally, we had thought about snorkeling, but based on the wave action, we decided to skip the snorkeling.  We’d sort of had our fill of snorkeling in rougher waters!

There were a number of birds at the Fort as well.  Some were smaller shore birds, but two of the larger birds were pelicans and frigate birds.  The frigate birds really seemed to be putting on a show, with some very aerobatic flying!  Or, maybe it was some sort of a mating ritual??

When we went inside the Fort, we walked through it all, except for the section that’s closed off because it’s the housing for the NPS staff assigned to Dry Tortugas.  There is an interesting bit of history about Fort Jefferson.  Although it was to be built as a defensive fort, it was never completed.  When the Civil War began, Florida tried to seize the Fort for the Confederate.  However, Union forces were there to defend the fort for the northern states.  So, the Fort never saw battle.  It was, however, used as a federal prison.  For the most part, Union soldiers were housed there when their crimes did not reach the level that called for the death penalty.  The most famous prisoner ever housed in the Fort was Dr. Samuel Mudd.  Dr. Mudd was one of the four conspirators sentenced to life imprisonment for the assassination of President Lincoln.  He helped treat John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg, and then failed to report that for 24 hours.  Of course, some say that he had no idea who John Wilkes Booth was and that when he did realize what he had done, he did admit it.  However, he was held in Fort Jefferson until he was pardoned by President Andrew Jackson.  When we were at the Fort, I met a woman who told me her name was Louise Mudhousen (or something like that).  At first, I didn’t understand what she was saying, but then realized her surname was Mudd-Housen.  She is a direct descendant of Dr. Samuel Mudd, and she allowed me to take her photo just outside of the Dungeon where Dr. Mudd was housed for part of his time in Fort Jefferson.

When Fort Jefferson was being built, construction supplies were brought in from as far away has Maine, and as close as Pensacola, Florida.  However, there was some construction material found even closer at hand, Water, sand, and coral was used in the concrete used to build Fort Jefferson.  And, in these photos, you can see bits of coral mixed into the concrete.  I especially like what looks to be a fossil in the lower image (lower left corner).  The red color in the upper image was just some plant debris that was lying on the concrete.

Here’s quite a nice shot of the inside of the Fort.  One of the common names for the area of greenery are the parade grounds, and it’s where the soldiers would gather each morning to receive their daily assignments. We were on the top level (3^rd floor, so to speak) of the Fort when I captured this image.

Here’s another image from the top level of the fort.  The number on this canon is 25, and it’s reflects that this is the 25^th canon of this style that was built, and it happened to be built in 1865.  By 1866, there were 175 canons total (of various styles) installed at Fort Jefferson.

Here’s another interesting image.  It looks like the canon has Loggerhead Key Lighthouse in its sights and is ready to fire upon it.  The cannonball could have reached the island, if they wanted it, too.  However, the canons were meant more to protect the Fort, and not allow invaders to reach the shore, so it’s highly unlikely it would have been aimed at the lighthouse!

Touring the fort was a great way to stroll through history.  You can see another canon on the right in this image, and on the left, the flag is flying as I looked out onto a bird sanctuary and rookery.  It’s one of the few places on the island not covered by the fort!

When we wandered along the 2^nd level of the fort, I loved the optics of this image.  It’s like a hall of arched doorways.  There didn’t appear to be any doors for these entryways.  They led from one canon (or space for one) to another.  My guess is that this is where the men who were not firing the canons could walk.

Here’s the view from a place where a gun/canon could be fired that was located on the 1^st level.  The opening of the door for the canon has started to crumble over time with the effects of the sea and salt.  Still, it does provide a nice view of the moat and ocean beyond.

This last image is of a boat known as the Chug.  It was called that due to the sound it made, as the engines ran and it “chugged” across the waters.  This is NOT a relic from the Civil War, but it is a relic of times more recently past, when Cubans would use whatever type of boat, raft, etc., to try to get from Cuba to any place on US soil, including Fort Jefferson.

Enjoy!

   

Sunrise at the Beach

One of the last mornings on the beach, I managed to get myself up early enough to go for an early morning walk with Jeff and Max.  It was a lovely calm morning, and I hoped to get some good sunrise, or at least early morning images.

As we approached the formal beach area, where we figured we get the best sunrise images.  But, we weren’t the first on the beach!!  A little shorebird beat us to the beach.  The pretty part of the sunrise hadn’t yet started, but he/she definitely had a front row seat!!

As the skies began to warm, pelicans flew in their own somewhat haphazard pattern across the sky, creating a lovely profile of nature.  It was nice to be up and about when what is typically a very lively beach was very quiet.

And, as I turned to view the beach back down toward where we were camped, I got this lovely view of a deserted beach.  The seaweed residue, however, was creating quite the uncomfortable sensation for my lower legs.  Lots and lots of little sandflies or something kept choosing me as their breakfast entrée – ouch!!

Max, of course, was patiently watching me and seemed to wonder why I just didn’t move to get away from the sandflies!!  He was unusually patient.  Perhaps he was confused by what I was doing.  I just need to take him on some of my photo outings, I guess!

The beach seems to roll on into the grove (??) of palm trees.  In actuality, there is a small channel between where the beach ends and the palm trees begin.  We’re just looking at a very nice optical illusion!  And, the sunrise colors are showing off their pale color this morning, too.

As the sun rose behind the clouds, I felt like the morning was a “soft” one – no blazes of colors, just an easing into the day.  Such a relaxing way to begin the morning.

But some were up and out earlier than us.  This fishing boat is making the most of a calm morning to see what sort of catch they can reel in.  I do love the play of the soft colors on both the clouds and the water.  The reflection of the sunrise is so incredibly peaceful.  

Enjoy!

Kayaking the Mangrove Tunnel

One of the things that Jeff and I committed to do was to kayak while in the Keys.  The state park where we camped was known for some good places to kayak, including through the mangrove tunnel there.  The tunnel was formed because Curry Hammock State Park in on a very small island, Crawl Key, and there’s a very tiny bridge that one needs to cross to get from Marathon Key to the state park.  There are mangroves growing on either side of the water separating Crawl and Marathon Keys, and the mangroves have been trimmed so that a natural tunnel was formed.

Although the launching area for the kayaks was very clear of mangroves and an easy launch spot, we decided to rent a kayak rather than use our inflatable kayak because of wanting to go through the mangrove tunnel.  Jeff’s concern was that the parts of the mangrove trees that were underwater might be sharp enough to poke a hole in our kayak – not a good thing!  So, we took off in a rented kayak, and were quite the comedy routine taking off and getting a handle on the hard plastic kayak, which seemed more difficult to steer, etc., than our kayak.

Finding the entrance to the mangrove tunnel was another challenge.  We knew we needed to head close to the main highway that ran through the Keys, but that wasn’t all that much help, due to how thick the mangroves were.  This was the entrance to the tunnel, believe it or not.  The tunnel wasn’t really visible until we were practically on top of the entrance!

Not long after we started down the tunnel, we came across the bridge that we drove on every time we entered or exited the park.  A couple of very large crabs were just hanging out on the side of the bridge, too.

There were a couple of interesting things about kayaking under the bridge – the first was that the “roof” of the tunnel wasn’t at all damp or slimy, as I thought it would be.  And, thank goodness for that, because the second thing was that the water level was so high, we could barely fit under the bridge!!  I practically had my head to my knees – I couldn’t even turn around to see how Jeff was managing to paddle us through here!  Needless to say, it was easy to reach up and touch the “roof”.  What was more difficult was not hitting my head!!

The “smallness” of the tunnel didn’t get much better when we exited from the tunnel.  Jeff had indicated that it was probably better if he was the only one paddling, as there was concern about getting our paddles caught up in the undergrowth of the mangrove under the water.  Also, that gave me the option of using my hands or paddle to attempt to steer us clear of the branches above the water and hopefully down the correct path to maneuver our way through the tunnel.

It seemed like a much longer time than I thought to make it through the mangrove maze, as I began to think of the tunnel!  I was wondering if somehow we had gotten turned around, when I began to see the light, so to speak – or in this case, the blue sky!  The brown in the image are the leaves that fell off the mangroves and were getting water logged enough to eventually sink to the floor of the waterway.

And, finally, we were in open water!!  At first, we thought we might kayak across to the tiny island directly in front of us, Deer Key.  But, then, we hadn’t really considered how much more effort it would take to kayak in the ocean, so we decided to just continue to kayak around the island the park sits on. 

 

As we kayaked around the island, we ended up kayaking along the beach where the swimmers, windsurfers, etc. have their fun!  In the top image, you can see how close our camp site is to the beach (see the arrow).  The bottom image is of some really pretty palm trees that were across from where the beach and kayak launch is located.    Quite the scenic kayak tour for this portion of our ride!

And, finally, a cormorant came by to say hi as we kayaked by the sign that warns the speed boats not to come closer to shore, and keeps the kayakers, swimmers and wind surfers safe!

Enjoy!