Blackwater River State Park, Holt, Florida February 17-24, 2014

You have probably noticed that we've been to this park a number of times as we left or returned to Florida and that is because the facilities are clean and well maintained and it's pretty much on the way if we are traveling west. This time, we vowed to walk some of the trails in the park. Nature and maintenance had not been consulted and we only managed to get to one – the others were under water or being worked on. The one we took was a nice walk of about a mile and a half through a pine forest and along the Blackwater River, where there are some man-made beaches thrown in for good measure. We also stopped at a trailhead near the river and managed to walk the 500 feet or so to the river without slipping in the muddy trail. There is swampland throughout this area so you never know what you're going to see. This trip, it wasn't much in the way of wildlife, but the scenery was nice and the weather perfect.

Now, it's on to a new park for us which is located on a barrier island across the bay from Pensacola – Fort Pickens National Park, part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.