traveling from Marianna, FL to Las Cruces, NM. Part I: The Gulf Islands National Seashore

Traveling from Marianna, FL to Las Cruces, NM 

Part I. Gulf Islands National Seashore 

Our first stop was at the Gulf Islands National Seashore in Pensacola, FL. I was starting to fret as we approached and then drove through Pensacola to get to the national seashore.  It was very built-up, very crowded and very commercial. I mean, there were some attractive condos and apartments along the waterfront with bike paths and beaches galore, but that's just not my favorite sort of place. As we kept driving the buildings stopped and then it was miles and miles of beaches, dunes, waterways, sand and shrubs with a few historical batteries and an old fort, Fort Pickens, thrown in for some contrast and history. There were also bike paths, hiking trails and birds (😁!) including nesting osprey and bald eagles!  Now doesn't that just sound like my sort of place?

The weather,  however was not quite as cooperative and was a bit on the sketchy side while we were there (windy, cool, and rainy), but we still enjoyed exploring, even if it wasn't the “sit in the sun, relax at the beach" sort of time we'd initially hoped for. 

We went to bed at night listening to a nearly deafening chorus of tree frogs, bullfrogs and all sorts of other noisy amphibians and awoke to the sounds of birds, osprey calling to their young, northern mockingbirds running through their full repertoire, cardinals, carolina wrens and many others as well as several types of woodpeckers adding their percussion to the mix to greet the morn.                                                            A cacophony of joy, a true delight!

And now, the pics:

Ft Pickens, a pre-civil war fort, was one of several built along the coast of the US (including Ft. Jefferson on Dry Tortugas NP that we visited last year) to protect our important ports for both trading and from siege. Some of these buildings were upgraded and used in WWII

and others left as historic echos of a time past

walking along the beach on way back to our campsite from Ft Pickens 

miles and miles of undisturbed beach

osprey flying overhead 

sorry- more pelicans pics.  I just really like pelicans  🤷

osprey - male guarding the nest

and mom

I love this pic, with the wind at her back she looks like she's sporting a wild headdress.  Considering osprey are normally so sleek and fierce, really daunting birds of prey, it seemed incongruous to then see one with a splay of feathers that just so happened to perfectly frame her head.

a towee, likely an eastern (the red eyes are a dead give-away for a towee)

Eagles - likely 1 yr olds hanging around the nest 

Are you lookin' at me?

and the second one

a perched osprey 

one day did clear andfor a bit and we spent a couple of hours on the beach. this guy came right up to us. apparently he was looking for a handout! haha


Next stop: The Natchez Trace, the town of Natchez and the great Mississippi River, itself.

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