“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” –Jacques Cousteau
A beach with perfect sugar white sand only a five minute walk from our campsite. I think I am in heaven!
Gulf Islands National Seashore at Ft. PickensThe beach at sunsetGulf Islands National Seashore
Our home for a week is Ft. Pickens Campground in Gulf Islands National Seashore on Santa Rosa Island. I’ve been doing a lot of walking on the beach and beach chair sitting.
Site A1 Ft. PickensReady for Beach Chair Sitting on the Gulf of Mexico
We’ve taken a couple of hikes on the half-mile Blackbird Marsh Nature Trail near the campground.
Along the Blackbird Marsh Nature Trail
It is nest building time for Ospreys and several nests can be seen in the area. Ospreys are frequently seen soaring over the campground and a few of the nests can be viewed close up from the nature trail.
Pair of Ospreys on the nature trailPair of Ospreys on the nature trailOsprey
And the sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico are breathtaking!
Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico
More of the Fort Pickens area coming up in my next post.
Snowbird – one who travels to warm climes for the winter (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
No, we’re not snowbirding this year – yet. Doctor’s appointments and household chores caused us to get a late start this year. Instead of hitting Florida during the peak snowbird season we will be arriving in Florida in early March just before spring break.
While we have been home, I’ve been thinking about all the places in Florida we have enjoyed. Here are just a few highlights from our snowbirding adventures from past years.
We had white sandy beaches almost completely to ourselves at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park.
The beach at sunset at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park
Watching the sunset was a perfect way to end the day at Cedar Key.
Cedar Key Sunset
We loved Everglades National Park and camped at the Flamingo Campground twice.
Pa-Hay-Otee Overlook in Everglades National Park
There was a lot of bird watching in Cedar Key.
White Pelicans and Cormorants at Cedar Key
And lots of alligators in Everglades National Park.
Alligators along the Anhinga Trial, Everglades National Park 2012
It was fun seeing manatees at Homossassa Springs Wildlife State Park.
Manatee in Homossassa Springs
This Gopher Tortoise walked across our campsite at Silver River State Park (now Silver Springs State Park).
Gopher Tortoise at our campsite Silver River State Park
We rode the Fort Gate Ferry across the St. John’s River near Salt Springs Recreation Area.
Waiting to cross the St. John’s River on the Fort Gates Ferry
And of course we went for boat rides.
Went for a boat ride in the Salt Springs Run
We ate our fill of stone crab claws and other fresh seafood.
Delicious Stone Crab Claws in Everglades City, Florida
Soon we will be hitching up the fifth wheel to do a little late snowbirding this year. We are going to a few new places and returning to a couple of favorites. Stay tuned to see where we wander next!
Mona Liza over at The Lowe’s RV Adventures recently asked me if I could name my favorite place. I didn’t have to think very hard to come up with an answer. My favorite place in the world is right here at home in coastal Georgia near Savannah. So this summer we’ve been enjoying a wonderful summer in our home state of Georgia.
The highlight of our summer was having the grandkids come to visit. Going to the beach, going for boat rides, visiting museums, making homemade ice cream, and catching blue crabs were just a few of the things we got to enjoy with them this summer.
We also enjoyed getting together with our friends and neighbors. We celebrated numerous birthdays, watched Fourth of July fireworks, and shared many meals and laughs.
One of the things I love most about where we live is the natural beauty all around us. I never get tired of all the birds and other wildlife we see each day. Throw in a few summer thunderstorms, some beautiful sunsets and a few rainbows and you have a summer full of great days.
I created a Mesh Gallery with a few highlights of the summer using Mesh. I hope you like it.
After almost six weeks exploring the great state of Texas it was time to head east toward home. We were sad to leave Texas but happy knowing we would soon be home. Our first stop in Louisiana was a place where we had camped on another trip four years ago. I had such fond memories of our first visit there I’ve been looking for an excuse to go back. I even made reservations for site 12, the same one we had camped in before. With a deck and a fishing dock right in front of the site, it was a perfect place to chill for a couple of days.
Lake Bistineau State Park is located about 20 miles from Bossier City. I remembered how friendly one of the rangers at the park was when we first visited and I was happy to see the same ranger greeted us at the office and checked us in. I have to say he is one of the nicest, friendliest, and most helpful park staff member we have ever met. We had a beautiful view of the lake from our deck and spent a lot of time just chillin’ and watching the herons and egrets fishing in the shallow water along the banks of the lake.
Great Egret in Lake Bistineau
Great Blue Heron at Lake Bistineau
I was way behind on doing laundry and was happy to find a small laundry right there in the park. And it was free! There was also WiFi at the park office and I could do a little catching up on the blog while we were there. We did a little shopping in Bossier City and got our fix of more Cajun Food at Shane’s Restaurant. Crawfish Etouffee and some Boudin to go and we were happy!
But it wasn’t all work, shopping and eating. We’re pretty good at sitting and chillin’.
Lake Bistineau
Turtles at Lake Bistineau
Did I mention we had the campground almost all to ourselves? There were only two other campers there the first night, and the next two nights there was only one other camper in the park. Perfect!
But eventually we had to move on. When we made the decision to go home via I-20 we could not miss a stop in West Monroe, Louisiana to see the headquarters of Duck Commander.
Duck Commander was established in 1972 by Phil Robertson. After an outstanding football career in college Phil had an opportunity to play professional football in the NFL. He turned down the offer because he didn’t love football. He loved hunting and fishing and wanted to make a living doing what he loved. He was unhappy with the duck calls that were available at the time and in 1972 started selling his own design.
Phil is now retired and his son Willie Robertson is now the CEO of the family run company and Duck Commander products are sold worldwide. Members of the Robertson family star in the popular A&E reality show “Duck Dynasty.”
Happy Happy Happy – a favorite Phil Robertson quoteWorld’s Largest Duck Call celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Duck CommanderCarving of Phil Robertson, founder of Duck CommanderThe Duck Commander BusDuck Commander Headquarters, about 3 blocks south of I-20 in West Monroe, LA
Lake Bistineau State Park is located near Doyline, Louisiana. The sites have paved water and electric hook ups, pads, picnic table, and fire pit. We had a premium site with a wooden deck overlooking the lake. There are several fishing docks located in the campground. The park also has a boat launch.
To visit Duck Commander we stayed at Ouachita RV Park in Monroe, Louisiana. The full hookup park had gravel pull through sites with free WiFi that actually worked, a nice laundry room, a meeting room, and a small pond.
Inks Lake State Park in Burnet (pronounced BURN-it DERN it) was our home for the 4 nights before Easter weekend. Thanks to my friend Tim in Arlington for recommending this park.
We arrived early in the day and were able to get a beautiful waterfront site. The bad news is we would have to leave on Good Friday because the park was full for Easter weekend. I knew we would love the area when we saw bluebonnets lining the roads to the park.
Our waterfront campsite was a great place to watch ducks, geese and all the water activities. We saw people paddling canoes and kayaks, floating on tubes, and fishing from motor boats. The sunsets were gorgeous.
Mallards at Inks Lake Dove at Inks LakeCanada Geese at Inks LakeHooded Merganser at Inks LakeTurtles on a log at Inks LakeSunset at Inks Lake
I love talking to locals to find out the best places to see. We stopped at Longhorn Caverns State Park one morning to ask about the tours. The ranger had seen me taking pictures of bluebonnets beside the road and he told us about a great scenic drive south of Llano. We were headed to Llano for lunch so we were off on a bluebonnet hunt after we stuffed ourselves with brisket and ribs.
Cooper’s Barbeque in Llano, Texas
Indian PaintbrushBluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush along Park Road 4Bluebonnets beside a streamBoots and bluebonnetsBeth in the bluebonnets
One afternoon we toured nearby Longhorn Caverns. During prohibition the cavern was privately owned and the cavern was run as a honky tonk and restaurant. In one of the large rooms was a bandstand with tables set up all around. When prohibition was repealed the owner gave the land to the state of Texas.
Crystals in Longhorn CavernThis dog was formed naturallyLonghorn CavernLonghorn CavernEastern Pipistrelle bat about three inches long at Longhorn CavernEastern Pipistrelle bat about three inches long at Longhorn CavernLonghorn Cavern State ParkBuilt by the CCC in the 1930’s at Longhorn Cavern State Park
One morning we took a hike on the Valley Spring trail in the state park. The trail started out beside the lake and wound through the woods with wildflowers growing beneath the trees.
Blondie getting her feet wet at Inks LakeDeil’s Waterhole on Inks LakeBluebonnets beside the Spring Valley trail at Inks LakeTop of the waterfallBeside the waterfallWaterfall at Inks Lake
Inks Lake State Park has moved up near the top of my list of favorite state parks. Our site was a back in paved pad with water and electric hookups, a picnic table, fire ring, and lantern hook. We had a huge area beneath shade trees to set up our chairs and watch the world go by. There are two fishing piers, a marina and boat launch, canoe and kayak rentals, playground, camp store, and several hiking trails. Click to read my campground review of Inks Lake State Park.
Wandering Dawgs 