Hawksbill Crag in July

Melanie and the kids had run to see her Mom, so that left Cassius and I as bachelors for Friday night . . . let the party begin. Okay, it wasn't a party but Cash was excited about getting to go for a ride in the truck. Anyway, I got a wild hair Friday afternoon and decided to throw the tent in the back of the truck and run over to Lost Valley for the night and camp so I could be up early on Saturday morning to hike into Hawksbill Crag for some sunrise pics.

You notice I said the dog WAS excited about riding in the truck, but I think he quickly got over the excitement of the ride when he realized he might be sleeping outside for the night. I'm not saying he's spoiled, but he's definitely accustomed to a queen sized bed and central heat/air. It was pretty pitiful, since we he spent the remainder of the night looking as if he'd been violated.

I can't say Cash was the only one spoiled, because the heat and humidity made for a long night but we survived. We packed up and headed to Hawksbill Crag before daylight on Saturday morning. The fog was so dense I had to wait for a while to get any pics. Although the lighting wasn't ideal for the shots, I managed to get a few pics and really enjoyed the hike. The round trip hike totaled about 5K and again, Cassius looked as if he'd been duped. As Melanie put it later, I think he was done with me.

After finishing the hike, it was about 8:30 a.m. and I decided to run over to Ben Hur and try to get some shots of Falling Water Falls and Six-Finger Falls. We'd tried to get some pics there over Memorial Day, but Falling Waters is a popular swimmin' hole and there were too many folks to get good pictures. I was thinking if I got there early enough I might be able to pull it off this time. Turns out you gotta get up real early in the mornin' to beat the locals to the swimmin' hole. I was able to get a few pics and made a few "friends", but I think I'll wait for cooler weather to try it again.

After leaving Falling Waters, I ran down to Six-Finger Falls and had a chance to spend a little time. It was beautiful and I got a few good pics. This is a beautiful area and you could spend the entire day taking pictures in the area. This one will definitely be on the list to revisit in the fall.

I'm not a lepidopterist (look it up), but the was a severe outbreak while we were there and you really had to watch your step . . . it was kinda neat.

As I headed back home, I decided to run by Haw Creek Falls since we'd had some pretty good rain, lately. When I arrived, the campground was closed and I decided not to hike in so we just headed home.

It was a good Saturday trip and I look forward to making it again as the leaves begin to change. I'm not sure Cassius feels the same . . .

Early morning at Hawksbill Crag.

The fog lifting in the valley at Hawksbill Crag.

Underneath the falls at Falling Waters.

Six-Finger Falls near Ben Hur.

Another shot of Six-Finger Falls.

A lepidopterist studies butterflies.

They were beautiful and they were everywhere.

Navarre Florida - Day #7

Unbelievable! It doesn't seem possible that we've been here seven days already. Friday was our last full day in Navarre. We'll begin the journey back to NWA on Saturday morning. Our last full day was really nice.

We got up and around and headed for Destin to have one last breakfast at the Donut Hole. Everyone enjoyed the meal and we even grabbed some donuts for the trip home, although I doubt any of them actually make it back to NWA.

After breakfast we went to the beach and set up in a cabana to enjoy our last full day on the coast. It was a cool day. We saw some dolphin almost immediately and they stayed in the area most of the day. Then I was able to catch a couple of small jellyfish and the kids enjoyed seeing them. I got to enjoy a small jellyfish sting on my leg, but I guess that's what I get for jacking with them.

One of the neatest parts of the day was when we noticed what looked like a large dark cloud in the water that was moving down the beach. As it got closer, we realized it was a large school of Rays. There were probably 50-60 in the first group. We ended up seeing several schools throughout the day and I even got a chance to walk out in the water with the Rays as they went past. I wasn't aware they actually traveled in schools, but it's not surprising I didn't know that fact since the majority of my knowledge of marine life comes from Finding Nemo.

We spent about five hours at the cabana and enjoyed the ocean breezes as we relaxed in the shade. After going back to the park, the kids ended the day in the pool, as usual. We just can't believe it's about over. We've had a great week!

A pic from our cabana looking over the Gulf.

A school of Rays swimming along the beach in Navarre.

A little closer pic of a Ray at Navarre.

The school of Rays up close.

Melanie enjoying a book at the cabana on Navarre Beach.

Navarre Florida - Day #6

Thursday was another relaxing day in Navarre. We started the morning on the beach at Navarre. We set up in a hut on the water and spent the next four hours hanging out and enjoying the Gulf.

We had a much more positive dolphin experience on Thursday. We were lucky enough to have a large pod of dolphin swim into the area who really put on a show. They were jumping and playing, which is something you usually associate with a visit to Sea World. We really enjoyed watching them play.

We grabbed a quick lunch and headed back to the park and spent a lot of time at the pool. We didn't get too active during the day and just relaxed and enjoyed our time away. It was a little hotter than we'd like, but it was still beautiful on the Gulf. After a light dinner, the kids headed back to the pool and stayed there until it was time for bed. I guess you could best describe our day as LAZY!

Mom and Dad hanging out on the beach.

Garrett grinning on the Gulf.

Ainsley looking for dolphin and enjoying the beach.

Dolphin playing along the coast in Navarre.

Two photographers trying to catch a sunset shot at Navarre.

Navarre Florida - Day #5

We can't believe we've already been here five days. Time really does fly when you're having fun. We got up early and drove the Pensacola Naval Air Station where the Blue Angels were having practice. The Blue Angels were awesome and everyone enjoyed the show, despite the heat. We also toured the Air Museum, although I'm not sure if it was more for our desire to learn about the history of flight or our desire to enjoy some A/C. Probably a little of both.

Before we left the Naval Base, we stopped by the Pensacola Light House. It was really neat to see, but based on the temps outside none of us chose to make the climb to the top of the lighthouse. Then we headed to Flounders for lunch. As usual, we all got stuffed. Another great meal.

We loaded up and headed to Ft. Pickens to check out the old fort structures and take a tour. On the way, we witnessed the attempted dolphin rescue (See the Oil Spill Update II - below). When we arrived at the actual fort complex it was really cool to see all the old structures. Garrett enjoyed reading about the history of the fort and narrated from the self-guided map along the way. Again, the temps probably kept us from seeing everything there was to see, but I think we all enjoyed the trip.

We came back to the park and Melanie and AT ran over to the swimming pool for a while. I worked on some photos on the laptop and stayed in the A/C for a little while. We ran to dinner and had some fish and shrimp tacos and pretty well called it a night. We got back to the RV and now are running down to the tiki hut to watch the sunset. It's a tough life, but somebody has to make the sacrifice.

The prisoner's quarters at Ft. Pickens, near Pensacola.

The Pensacola Lighthouse at the Pensacola Naval Air Station.

The Blue Angels landing after their practice with young fans waving their flags in appreciation.

One of the Blue Angels in the middle of a roll during practice.

The Blue Angels beginning their practice run. It was an awesome display.

Oil Spill Update II

Unfortunately this BP Oil Spill Update is much worse than the previous entry. Although the beaches at Destin and Navarre are still as beautiful as they were when I previously blogged, we traveled 25 miles to the west to Pensacola Beach and things were much worse. We went to Fort Pickens and when we arrived at the park we saw a large crowd and several news crews gathered on the beach. We let curiosity get the best of us and we stopped to investigate.

When we got closer we saw the marine mammal rescue team trying to save a young female dolphin which had beached herself and she was covered in oil. They attempted to clean her and kept taking her in and out of the water to keep her alive. We learned later, the dolphin did not survive. It was sickening.

The beach had turned from a beautiful white to a speckled mess. There was oil all along the beach at Fort Pickens. We later heard on the radio, they had closed the beach to swimmers. We don't know how much longer we have until the mess reaches us, but we can't imagine it will be long. Like one of our political leaders said, "plug the damned hole!" I'm not sure I could have said any better.

It's one thing to live 11 hrs from the coast and see the coverage on the news, but it's another to be here and see some of the impact first hand. I can't explain how it impacts you to see something like this failed dolphin rescue. This is a real tragedy.

Marine mammal rescue tries to save young female dolphin at Ft. Pickens.

Another shot of the rescue attempt. The dolphin was covered in oil and later died.

The oil splattered beach at Ft. Pickens near Pensacola.

The beaches were later closed to swimmers.

Navarre Florida - Day #4

I'm a little behind, but Day #4 (Tuesday) was the most relaxing day so far. We were planning on getting up early and heading to the Pensacola Naval Air Station to watch the Blue Angels practice, but the weather was a little rough so we decided to wait until Wednesday. AT and I got up about 6:30 a.m. and headed down to the beach for a walk. The temps were nice and we enjoyed some quiet time on the sand.

We made it back to the park and it started raining a little, so I took a really long nap which covered most of the remainder of the morning. We spent a lot of the day hanging out at the pool. Didn't really get the camera out much, so there aren't any pics to share. As with most of our vacations, they are centered around food and R&R so we had a group effort for dinner and I cooked 3 lbs. of fried shrimp. We also had homemade seafood gumbo, some crab legs, crab cakes, and some fried oysters. We were so stuffed the only thing we could do was go back to the pool and just lay around the rest of the evening. Nothing exciting . . . just the way we like it.

Navarre Florida - Day #3

Another relaxing day on the Gulf Coast. We ran over to Destin and stopped by the Donut Hole (some of the best donuts on the planet). We had a chance to take a walk along the beach at Destin and had lunch at the Crab Trap on Okaloosa Island. We had fried crab claws, oysters on the half shell, a shrimp po' boy, and some crab legs. We were stuffed so we headed back to Navarre to choose up teams and take naps.

In the afternoon, we took some walks on the beach and just hung out around the RV park. After dinner, we took some pics in the area and ran over to Navarre Island to watch the sunset. It was a beautiful sunset, but wasn't perfect for a lot of photos. It's the nesting season for the shore birds in the area and it was neat to hear how loud it was. It was the kind of relaxing day you hope for on vacation.

A herron, fishing near the bay at Destin.

An abandoned boat beneath the bridge at Navarre.

Ainsley wanted to use Dad's camera and this was her first shot. Much better than Dad's first shot. I don't know if she was trying to frame it, but she did a great job.