I had hoped to visit a few people this month, but that did not work out, so I kept going. I had not seen the northern edge of the Gulf coast so I drove Hwy 10, looking at the landscape. The forest is similar with tall Long-leaf Pines, altho it seemed thin, likely a "beauty strip" along the hwy to hide other activities. Many inlets from the Gulf pass under the hwy, lined with Cypress trees, looked similar to the river I paddled yesterday morning.
Weather has very warm and humid, with occasional intermittent rain. It seems that the clouds become so heavy with moisture they can't hold it anymore. One evening I was driving to a camping site and watched the gloomy darkness surround the landscape. That night it rained hard.
Alabama has very little shoreline along the Gulf coast, but they make the most of it at Gulf State Park. One evening I walked to the boat ramp and could see Orion and other constellations. Clear skies did not last long. Next day dense fog lasted half the morning. I waited until the fog cleared and launched Dolphin into the dark brown water. The water is dark brown with tannins from leaves and branches. I paddled under a few bike trail bridges over the canal, and past a few fishing platforms.
Big Lagoon State Park was another very nice park. Camping facilities looked great, except that I visited at mid-day. The observation tower had great views of the Gulf.
Hurricane Michael devastated the coastal towns south of Hwy 10 along the Florida panhandle. Effects on the forest are visible from highway 10. Trees are blown over, areas where all the trees were snapped off, guard rails are damaged by falling trees, highway signs are blown over, and big brush piles have been created as highway workers have cleared debris from the shoulders. Large trucks collected the piles, maybe for firewood, or wood chips.
Manatee Springs State Park was fun. The springs are a deep blue color, about 25 feet deep. Like most of Florida, this area has Limestone underneath, and the springs bubble up small amounts of water thru the limestone all day. They estimate it could be as much as 100 gallons/ day for Manatee Springs.
Further south, a windstorm blew in. Birds along the shore took shelter in the lee of a low dune. Willets, Dowitchers, Plovers: Snowy, Piping, and Semi-Palmated. A few Least Sandpipers flew in. Laughing Gulls are the standard gull. A flock of Marbled Godwits landed, and had to share the beach with the Ruddy Turnstones. Terns are mostly Royal Terns, with an occasional Sandwich Tern. A flock of Black Skimmers rested on the sand waiting for the windstorm to pass.
Ospreys are doing well. I have seen them perched on phone poles eating their freshly caught fish.
In this area the camera stopped working. It does not want to turn on. So no more photos.
