From Charleston, we drove south to Jacksonville and then west to the Tallahassee area. Our destination was the Ochlockonee State Park. The part was a great place to camp. The campsites are very suitable for tent camping and we obtained a very nice spot right next to the river. In addition to enjoying the camping area, we also took spent time in Tallahassee (there was a restaurant that I had gone to 30 years prior during an IETF meeting that I had to find again :-). We also took a driving tour out towards Panama City — which was, only a few weeks prior, where Hurricane Michael hit the coast with some incredible force. The police were turning away non-residents at St. Joe, but what we saw along the Apalachicola coast was incredible. I did not take pictures of the destruction — there were too many people who had lost so much.

We also took a day tour out to St. Marks Wildlife Refuge. This is a famous Monarch Butterfly migration point — but we were not in high season. None the less, we saw lots of life in the wetlands.

The Lighthouse at St. Marks.Monarch Butterfly at St. Marks Wildlife Refuge.Crab Army. Out for food and battle. If you walk too close they all disappear into the sand and pop up later once you are gone -- or still!A Crab War. These guys are about the size of a dime and erupt from the tidal sand.The Eagles Nest on a small islet out in the tidal plain.Eagle at Nest. This is a telephoto shot from very far away. Tourists are not allowed anywhere near the nest when the eagles have young.Eagle Soar. Looking for food to feed the eaglets in the nest below.The eagle looking to make a strike on some prey.Ah yes, sunrise over the river. Just about 30 feet east of our camp.Our camp set up, The sun is just coming up in the east. The river is just behind the bushes at the edge of our camp.Another view of our camp at sunrise. I am the only one daft enough to be up at this time of day. Nice soft campground, but you have to manage the sand.Sunrise in the pines. This is a short walking/driving trail near the camp meant to highlight the forest life.Not an albino squirrel but one with a white fur mutation -- leucism, for the biologist. There is a large colony in the state park.White squirrel on the move. These fellows were all around our campsite.
Fort Sumter -- 2018
Savannah -- 2018