St. Andrews State Park

We just spent a long weekend in Florida with my family, and during the trip I got to visit St. Andrews State Park, which is right along the coast near Panama City. In addition to beaches and dunes, it also has marshes, lagoons, and pine scrub forests that are common in Florida’s panhandle region.

We had double red flags and unpredictable weather all weekend.

Near the beaches there is a pier and some jetties where people fish and swim.

But more importantly, pelicans!!!

Farther inland there is a manmade lake called "Gator Lake," which had a boardwalk and observation deck, as well as a walking trail plastered with warning signs about alligators. I visited the park for the the first time last summer, and then I was too chicken to leave the boardwalk and take the trail. This year I decided to risk it and take what was probably the most hyper-vigilant walk of my entire life! :) I jumped about two feet every time I heard or saw something move.

I didn't see any alligators, but I did see a lot of exciting birds and critters, which you'll see in my next post.

Gator Lake

This area of Florida was hit by Hurricane Michael after I visited last year, so coming back, I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of damage.

Trailhead by Gator Lake in 2018

Trailhead in 2019

I didn't quite nail the framing on the two shots above, but you can still see the tree damage and the loss of the beautiful hanging moss. These effects were pretty consistent for the entire trail.

Still beautiful however you look at it.

I'm running behind on everything this week - it feels like any time I take two days off, I come back to 5 days worth of new work. But hopefully soon I can get caught up on new photos and see what you've all been up to while I was gone!