Florida Day 18

March 16

Hiked and biked 6.2 miles

Up early and a fond farewell to Alabama. It was another beautiful day; likely to be the hottest so far.

We quickly went around Mobile and hit Mississippi at 9:43. Not much to report today; maybe we're in alligator withdrawal.

Like much of the south (the U.S.?), there are stretches of road (this time, Old Highway 90) with church after church, often side-by-side. And there was another "Health Care Alley" with practioners and a hospital all in a row.

We saw prisoners cleaning ditches. And my favourite sign so far: "Ja Makin Me Tan". You can guess the business.

We got to Shepard State Park in time for lunch. The Gulf is nearby, but we're on a bayou (swampy river that leads into to ocean). It feels like an Ontario Provincial Park, except it's cheap ($18 with electricity and water), and there's lots of room on and between campsites. It's a big park with lots of trails and a soccer field and an elaborate Frisbee golf course.

We road some trails and enjoyed the azaleas and some white flowers that looked kind of like Dollar Store flowers:

And some weird soil piles we later discovered were Crayfish "chimneys" (apparently they burrow down in wet places, anywhere):

We then headed out of the park down some residential streets, looking to get to the Gulf. Not today, but we'll explore more tomorrow.

We have quite a few birds in our backyard: Towhees and Titmice (mouses?) and even a Chickadee to remind us of home.

Tomorrow we'll do some exploring outside the park; the Mississippi Sandhill Crane Reserve and an amazing bike trail are nearby.

Here's the view from my chair (and a view of a sweet Titmouse in our fire ring):