We had passed Carrabelle Beach on our way to St. George Island and again on our way to the High Bluff Coastal Trail. We decided this morning to walk along the beach and check out the town of Carrabelle. When we got out of the truck, we saw that the tiny flowers in the ground cover had attracted a host of Gulf Fritillaries, including this one that fluttered flower to flower, posing for Ken's camera.
The beach is a crescent extending in both directions, and the tide was fortunately out so that we were able to walk beyond the city beach.
The waterfront property is unevenly developed. This mansion represents one end of the spectrum, an example of the degree to which money can command nature.
On the other end of the spectrum we found this RV site. Even "trailer trash" like us could find a little personal bit of paradise on this "Forgotten Coast."
As we walked back along the beach, Ken spotted a dorsal fin. His first thought was "shark," but then we realized that what we were actually seeing was a group of dolphins off shore, probably feeding. Ken actually got a brief video of some of them, but the file is too large for the blog. It was exciting to watch them.
After we left the beach we drove to the Crooked River Lighthouse. The original light was built on Dog Island but destroyed by a hurricane in 1873. The current light was built in 1895 on the coast and continued to guide sailors through the passage between Dog Island and St. George Island. It was decommissioned in 1995 and almost sold as surplus, but a group of local people formed the Carrabelle Lighthouse Association to protect this bit of local history.
We went to the City of Carrabelle to look around. Other than the many marinas, it didn't have much to hold us there, so we headed home.
We're guessing that this bear crossing sign must indicate that the local black bears occasionally come down to the shore.
It's a good thing we got our exercise this morning. The weather took a turn for the worse this afternoon. Tomorrow we'll be moving on.
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