Savannas is hidden in an almost remote rural area between
Port St Lucie and Fort Pierce just west of the Indian River and just across the
railroad tracks that must run the entire length of Florida! The lonesome whine of the long melodious
horn bid us good night each evening and signaled time to get up each morning at
sunrise! The tracks were just out of
sight across the thick swamp grass. The
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| Kayak adventure |
kayaks slid into the dark water one more time during our stay at the park and
we were determined to find the “path” that led to the “lake” on the other side
of that swamp. The way was narrow and
wiggled thru the cattails and grasses. Just under the surface of the calm water
was a sinister looking mass of roots and jungle that if you extended the tip of
the paddle too far into it’s shallow depths – they reached out and tried to
snatch the paddle to make a prisoner of your small craft! We did survive tho, and made it to the
picturesque lake with dancing ripples on its surface.
Fort Pierce is about 40 miles east of Lake Okeechobee and
the
touristy fishing town by the same name that sits on the north side of the
shoreline. Between the two towns is
cattle and dairy country! Pasture after
pasture of a variety of colorful cattle – with and without horns! We met
B&C in Okeechobee at the same Cowboy Restaurant where H and I ate last
year. The food was still good! To walk
off that good meal we all drove to the same levee that surrounds the lake on
the north side as the south side where we rode our bikes in SB. All the seagulls and the skimmers with their
black and orange bills were huddled in a huge puddle in the parking lot and
flew up in a panic as we approached!
The scenic fishing pier beckoned and we shared the pretty view from it
with B&C. H and I then drove farther
around the lake to yet another spot where H used to camp – Okee-tantie County
Park which also became run down and was closed for camping 3 years ago. Today there is still a marina and a large
empty campground that looked more like a cemetery with it’s old electrical
posts looking very much like abandoned memorial markers. From one of the small boat launch coves, the
view of the flat shallow lake was calming and peaceful. |
| Okee-tantie boat basin |
The weather has been fluctuating from comfortable to windy
(still) and cold. Rain was forecast so
we packed everything away the evening before we were to pull out. Our Pennsylvania neighbors, Dale and Connie
came over and visited one more time with an invite to come visit next summer at
their favorite Pa State Park where they volunteer!
Farther north we headed – back out onto the long narrow
barrier island that started up again just north of Hutchinson Island. Sebastian Inlet State Park was full so our
next home for a few nights was Long Point County Park just north of the high arched
bridge and the 2 long fishing jetties at H’s favorite inlet and camping spots.
Yep, it’s time for a SPFB! The first
time H brought me to Long Point, I was not even retired yet. He had driven the 1992 Ford truck with the
pop-up camper on it. I had attempted to
take a picture of a pelican that was resting in a small mangrove tree at the
edge of the water and not knowing – I was standing on a fire ant nest!! BURN BABY BURN!! We think this campsite was the very same site but the mangrove
growth was way thicker now.
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| warning flags at Sebastain |
Out for an afternoon of exploring, we headed south past the
inlet and stopped at the very small village of Orchid for ice cream. Strolling out and around some orange
construction tape, we carried our cones and stood on the boardwalk to watch
some big yellow
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| Beach work at Orchid |
monster trucks that were hauling sand from one end of the beach
to the other. These oversized ”Tonka
Toy” dump trucks with bulbous tires roared and wallowed thru the soft sand,
carrying load after load to a growing pile that was in front of a fancy Disney
Resort! They were rebuilding their
beach – again! While standing there,
holding my frozen cone and not paying any attention to anything but those trucks
– a thump hit my hand and emptied it of my future snack. A greedy vulture of a seagull snatched my
cone and flew down to the beach to devour it.
Soon there was a gaggle of squawking gulls fighting over my stolen
melting treat. I was SO angry! H offered to buy me another but I chose
not. I was too humiliated.
Our main objective on our only full day at the park was to
ride our trusty little bikes down to the state park area on the northern side
of the inlet. As usual on this year’s trip, the wind was powerful but we
prevailed and arrived at the gate. Out
on the long narrow cement path that protruded into the ocean, fishermen were
casting and hoping for a sign that their luck was going to improve. As we strolled back along the walkway we
paused to watch the half dozen surfers who were rising and falling with each
and every rolling breaking wave. The
sun was at the just right angle and the wind
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| Rainbows on the waves |
from the west, caught the peak of
the sparkling white wave and sprayed its froth back out towards the open
sea. As each wave broke, the sun caused
a beautiful rainbow to dance on its top and perch on it all the way up the
shoreline. This picture does not do the
vision any justice but you can see some of the colors of the prism.
