January 19, 2014 – Florida South Coastal Towns and State Parks

A light early morning shower at dawn provided us a wonderful vision from the door of our motor home.

Early Morning Rainbow Outside our RV, Grayton State Park, Santa Rosa Beach, FL - 2014-01-19Needing some groceries, we decided to drive east through some of the shore towns enroute to a Publix market about ten miles away.   We really didn’t expect to see much more than some honky-tonk towns so prevalent in beachfront communities.  However, we were in for a pleasant surprise driving through these very upscale areas

Seaside, FL

Seaside, FL

Newer and colorful home, Seaside, FL

Newer and colorful home, Seaside, FL

Gateway to Alys Beach, FL

Airstream Vendors, Seaside, FL

Gateway to Alys Beach, FL

Gateway to Alys Beach, FL

Gateway to Alys Beach, FL

Fountain and Craft Show, Rosemary Beach, FL

Typical condo building with retail on the first floor and residential units above

Typical condo building with retail on the first floor and residential units above

Bikes for Rent in Rosemary Beach, FL

Bikes for Rent in Rosemary Beach, FL

Bikes for Rent (c), Rosemary Beach, FL - 2014-01-19 Bikes for Rent (e), Rosemary Beach, FL - 2014-01-19Heading back to our campground, we pulled into a Deer Lake State Park, which we’d by-passed a half-hour earlier.  Following a boardwalk over the dunes,

Root in Dunes, Deer Lake State Park, Seagrove, FL - 2014-01-19Dunes and Deer Lake at Deer Lake State Park, Seagrove, FL - 2014-01-19we arrived at one of the prettiest beaches on Florida’s Panhandle Gulf Coast.

Beach Surf (b), Deer Lake State Park, Seagrove, FL - 2014-01-19 Beach Surf (a), Deer Lake State Park, Seagrove, FL - 2014-01-19

Leaving the park we got to chatting with a couple from Alabama who suggested we consider visiting Conservation Park in Panama City Beach.  Taking their advice, we were anything but disappointed.

The City of Panama City Beach established the Panama City Beach Conservation Park in cooperation with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for the enjoyment of bikers, hikers and nature lovers.  The Conservation Park is 2,912 acres of total area (908 acres uplands and 2,004 acres wetlands) with 24 miles of true wilderness trails and 1 mile of boardwalks. 

The Conservation Park serves two fundamental principles: to protect and balance our natural resources while providing outdoor recreational opportunities.  The 2,900+ acres of West Bay Ecosystem is protected by the management and utilization of the City’s reclaimed water to rehydrate the wetlands.  The Park’s forestry management practices will also lead to ecosystem restoration and habitat improvements as certain species are removed and native species are reintroduced.

 In addition, to the functionality of the park, there are many trails on site from which you can observe native wildlife roaming freely.   These trails range anywhere in route size, from 0.6 miles up to 11 miles, with twelve different trails to choose from. 

We opted for a 5-6 mile route.  No sooner had we started our hike

Path (a), Conservation Park, Panama City Beach, FL - 2014-01-19 Path (b), Conservation Park, Panama City Beach, FL - 2014-01-19than we noticed literally thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of long-leaf pines which had clearly been planted in row after row.

Rows of Long Needle Pines (a), Conservation Park, Panama City Beach, FL - 2014-01-19Later, our suspicions were confirmed that the area had been previously cut over for timber products and reforested; with the understory kept in check through controlled burns every 3-5 years.

Long Needle Pines and Low Undergrowth (a), Conservation Park, Panama City Beach, FL - 2014-01-19Along the boardwalks

Boardwalk, Conservation Park, Panama City Beach, FL - 2014-01-19 Boardwalk-2, Conservation Park, Panama City Beach, FL - 2014-01-19

there were large patches of alga, some forming random patterns while others looked more like a blanket had been thrown on top of the water.

Alga on the Water (a), Conservation Park, Panama City Beach, FL - 2014-01-19 Alga on the Water (b), Conservation Park, Panama City Beach, FL - 2014-01-19 Alga on the Water (c), Conservation Park, Panama City Beach, FL - 2014-01-19We were also treated to other natural pallets of color and mirror-like reflections.

Red Leaves (b), Conservation Park, Panama City Beach, FL - 2014-01-19 Red Leaf and Long Needle Pine Bow, Conservation Park, Panama City Beach, FL - 2014-01-19Emerging Palm, Conservation Park, Panama City Beach, FL - 2014-01-19

Reflection, Conservation Park, Panama City Beach, FL - 2014-01-19Unfortunately, although coyote, black bear, Florida Panthers, Bald Eagles, Whitetail Deer, Alligators, Snakes and a wide variety of bird life inhabit the Park, as it is in mid-January all were sadly absent from view other than a two or three small, unidentifiable birds.  Still, the beauty and quite of the Park made the visit more than worthwhile!

After stopping for a pizza for a very late lunch and finally hitting the grocery store, we returned to our motorhome in Grayton State Park.

Shortly after returning to our motorhome, we headed for the beach to end the day as it had begun … enjoying a gorgeous display of nature.

Sunset (a), Grayton State Park Beach, Santa Rosa, FL - 2014-01-9 Sunset (b), Grayton State Park Beach, Santa Rosa, FL - 2014-01-9 Sunset (d), Grayton State Park Beach, Santa Rosa, FL - 2014-01-9 Sunset Afterglow (a), Grayton State Park Beach, Santa Rosa, FL - 2014-01-9 Sunset Afterglow (c), Grayton State Park Beach, Santa Rosa, FL - 2014-01-9

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