St. George Island State Park, St. George Island, Florida
The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days. ~ Genesis 7:24 (That’s nearly five months!)
This morning, they left her food and water bowl out – full.
The squirrels enjoyed a great feast!
Did you know that in some State Parks, you can take your bike on a hike with you? We did that today! The bikes seemed to enjoy it, although a few times they tried to veer off on their own, and we’d have to reign them back in.
Today we explored the nine miles on the east end of the 28-mile island we’re parked on. That’s the part the State owns, and they have a bike trail that runs between the Bay on the north side, and the Gulf on the south. It was a gorgeous day today! But chilly when we started out, so we bundled up and were fine. Especially since the sun was in full-on brilliance!
The only problem was the drifting sands. It seems they’re letting this trail return to nature. As I said on the picture, at one time, you could drive too, and there were a few patches of asphalt still visible, which made biking much easier. 😊 Some of the sand was hard-packed and we were able to ride, but other places we had to get off and walk. It became a game to see who could go the furthest through the sand without having to get off. I’m proud to say that most of the time we were pretty even. 😊
There were higher dunes on the Gulf side that prevented us from seeing the water a lot.
At least me, anyway. Why me? Cuz I’m short! : )
The signs we saw said they were around, but we believed that about as much as we believe the bear signs. : ) Yet, there it is! Proof positive!
Gives us hope of seeing a bear. . . but not much.
This is our trail, believe it or not. I panned across from the bay to the Gulf.
Before we got all the way to the end, we discovered a place where we could walk across the dune area because it was almost completely flat. So we left our bikes – sort of like hitching up your horse! – and walked over to the beach where we had a marvelous time! We sat and ate lunch, hunted for unusual things, and soaked up the sun and fresh air. And still, we only saw a few people, and all but two were on bikes. Spectacular!
But we’re still about two miles away.
This is about the place we abandoned our bikes, chaining them to a fence post we came across.
So many unexpected things today!
So much to remind us of the creativity and love of our Heavenly Father!
Oh. Wait. I lied.
There was a local couple who passed us while we were eating lunch.
They were walking.
Looks like a rock, doesn’t it?
We moved down to where our feet could touch. Perfect!
Wonder if they’re the hurtin’ kind?
There’s not much left. : (
That’s what I’m taking a picture of.
It’s on the right side, rounded, but blended in with the sand and water. See it?
Does that bring to anyone’s mind, Mary quite Contrary and her garden? : )
Yes, Mom. I know they were flowers and not seashells. : )
Blaine didn’t sit for long. : )
Pretty easy landmark to see. : )
We decided to ride our bikes back on the Gulf beach, since we saw others doing that, but after pushing them to the beach and getting astride, we discovered our too-narrow tires just sank into the sand. ☹ So back to the trail we went, where we also discovered the sand was much softer in the warmer temperatures. Yikes! We were able to ride some, but it was more difficult, and we’re certain we had to push more.
Maybe the bikes were just trying to unseat us?
How often do you get an ocean beach all to yourselves?!?
All told, we biked five miles and hiked four miles today. Unless you don’t count all the times we had to push our bikes. I guess it would be more accurate to say, we covered a total of nine miles today. 😊
This evening, we brought out some of our winter clothes and walked to the bay to watch the sunset. No one paints a more lovely picture than God! So grateful!
