Final summer my wife and I made a decision we wished to devote a couple of weeks in the panhandle of Florida camping at the beach. The Florida panhandle beaches are well known for their beautiful white sandy beaches and emerald green waters. 10 months in advance we booked a two week camping trip starting at Rainbow Springs State Park in Dunnellon for 3 nights then St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Seashore for six nights and ending up at St. George Island State Park for 5 nights. The catastrophe in the Gulf took place 6 weeks ahead of we were to depart on this journey. We watched the news day-to-day to see if the oil would make it to the panhandle ahead of our journey or even for the duration of the journey. No matter, as the time got closer we made a decision we would go regardless.
Rainbow Springs State Park is located on the Rainbow River and delivers its' visitors a normal setting to just unwind, enjoy a picnic, or take a swim in the cool spring. Becoming it was the first of July and the temperature was in the nineties we determined to take the inner tube trip down the river. The tube trip took a small in excess of two hrs which boasts some spectacular scenery along the river banking institutions. A quick bus trip by way of the park will get you back to the campground.
To get to the spring head by road is 7 miles which makes for a great bike ride. Nevertheless, when the temperature is over ninety and no shade along the highway this trip can get fairly hard. However the trip was really worth it. The spring head park has a botanical backyard with lovely flowers, trees as old as Florida is, and small waterfalls throughout the gardens. There is a dock at the spring head for folks to leap into the crystal clear waters. Thoughts you, the awesome water will take your breath and it is deeper than it appears to be. Soon after the bike trip back, it was straight to the river for a dip to awesome off.
St Andrews State Park is situated in the pinewoods near Grand Lagoon on a former military reservation that has more than one particular-and-a-half miles of beaches on the Gulf of Mexico.The weather was not that excellent when we initial arrived at St Andrews State Park, not considerably rain, just wind and quite overcast however, for the very first few days we produced the very best of it. Due to the off shore winds the currents had been genuinely bad in the gulf and people had been suggested to keep out due to sturdy currents. Staying out of the water had nothing at all to do with the oil spill. In fact, we invested about half of our day just enjoying the stunning white sandy beaches with a lot of of the nearby residents as well as fellow campers. The nationwide Guardsmen that patrolled the seashore for indicators of oil have been very polite and informative about the problems of the seashores as well as the water. We had been informed they had been indicators of oil twenty miles off shore but it was not anticipated to get any closer and they had identified no tar balls on the seashore.
The final two total days at St Andrews Park was picture perfect weather. The temperature was back to ninety degrees, not a cloud in the sky with a modest ocean breeze. The ocean was calm and clear with minor ripples of waves. The seashores had been packed with campers as well as local residents.
Welcome to Bangkok, Thailand St. George Island State Park has 9 miles of undeveloped seashores and dunes, surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico and Apalachicola Bay. The very first 4 miles are assessable by vehicle along the parks main drive and the final five miles are by foot only. If you want to go for a wonderful stroll I suggest you walk the seashore that is assessable by foot only like my wife and I did even so, the scenery does not modify, but there is a great possibility you will uncover some big conch shells especially at minimal tide. From the campground to the beach is only 1 quarter mile unless of course you want to go to the public seashore areas that have bathrooms and showers then it is about 1 mile to the nearest a single.
There are two nature trails found inside the park. The 2.five mile trail to Gap Point starts in the campground and meanders via the pine flat wood forest to the bay. If one fells adventuress as we did flip south when you attain the bay and work your way along the edge of the water. Our intent was to attempt and attain the gulf, think me it is not simple and significantly further that it seems. After about four hours and traveling quiet a distance it looked no closer than when we started. Thoughts you, we kept stopping and collecting shells along the way. Soon after about 30 more minutes we came along a trail foremost into the woods. We decided to consider the trail not being aware of in which it would lead us and to our luck, it took us close to the public seaside spot. What a thrill.
