Feb 15-18, 2014 - The Econfina River

We arrived at the Econfina River Resort and discovered a wonderful RV and Fishing resort.  Set amongst trees and ponds, it is a quiet, well-kept easy going place. The office was just closing when we got there and I was told I could pay the next day.  Well no one was around when we returned from our ride, I think it was Monday before I paid.  Most places won’t even let you park until your bill is paid.  These guys were like “Oh whenever”…

 

 

Set up for the stay

Waterfront property 

Gator bait

Sunday I had a ride planned that would take us into the Wildlife Management Areas and neighboring State Park.  I also planned stops at a lighthouse, restaurant, and a local Civil War Battlefield.  It was going to be close to 200 miles.  Sometimes things just don’t work out the way you have them planned.

 

We began with a trip on dirt roads to the Hickory Mound observation platform.

It gives a great view across the grassland swamps 

Yes that’s the road.  We came across a woman on the side of the road with a net.  I had to stop and ask her what she was hoping to catch.  Turns out Blue Crabs are plentiful in that area.  She wasn’t having much luck that day, which was too bad. 

From there we started having problems with our GPS route.  Although the area is riddled with dirt roads, most of them were gated shut and labeled no trespassing. It turns out that all the land around the WMA is owned by hunt clubs and we weren’t allowed to play at their place.  I had to route around it and skip large portions of the ride.

We went down the highway to the next WMA and were doing ok, except for the really deep mud holes in the roads.  The first one we went through I must have found the sweet spot, but Wayne ended up seat deep in black muck, spinning his tire and roosting his way out of it.  I tried not to laugh, much.  We were much more careful after that!

They hunt in blinds in this area 

Critter count for the day was one deer and two armadillos. They are so cute; I’m surprised they aren’t the newest designer exotic pet.  This one had no problems with me stopping to get my camera out before he started moving.  Even then he freeze-framed so I could get a good photo! 

 

My route took us to dead end roads and we had to abandon this part too.  So it was back to the pavement and a short hop down to Lighthouse Road. The St Marks Lighthouse is located in the St Marks National Wildlife Refuge. 

 We were greeted by a park volunteer who gave us a bit of back ground info.  The Keepers house and the tower were used by both sides during the Civil War. Confederate forces initially used the sturdy house as a barracks and a fortress, while the tower served as a lookout. The lighthouse was bombarded by Union ships on June 15, 1862, and a year later Union sailors returned and burned the wooden steps in the tower to prevent Confederates from spying on their activities. When Union forces landed near the lighthouse in 1865 to march on Tallahassee, they discovered that the retreating Confederates had burned the dwelling and set off multiple charges in holes they had drilled in the tower. One blast tore an eight-foot hole in the tower, while other blasts succeeded in only dislodging several outer layers of brick from the tower.

The new Keeper Quarters were built to cover the hole caused by the blast in the tower. The keepers and their families lived on site from 1830-1960 when the Coast Guard automated the lighthouse.  A side note, while we were here we met a group of motorcyclist from the area.  One of the gals has so excited to see a couple of old farts on Dual Sport bikes that she had to take a picture of us with our bikes!  How cute is that! 

The St Marks River 

We had lunch in St Marks.  By then it was about 3:00. We had spent way too much time trying to get around all the mud holes and gated roads that we called it a day, and went home to let the cats out to play. We ended with only 108 miles, but saw some great sights.

Monday was another great ride.  We mixed dirt and pavement for 196 miles.  We started at Natural Bridge State Park. Natural Bridge is the site of the second largest Civil War battle in Florida and where the St. Marks River drops into a sinkhole and flows underground for a quarter of a mile before reemerging, creating a natural bridge. Confederate soldiers, old men and young boys met the Union forces at Natural Bridge and successfully repelled three major attacks. The Union troops were forced to retreat to the coast and Tallahassee was the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi not captured by the Union. 

Memorial to those who gave their lives from both sides 

The park is a pretty setting

A gnome home, complete with mailbox and gnome!! 

We stopped for lunch beside a small pond 

We continued around our loop going back to the coast to the east of where we were camped.  This took us to Keaton Beach.  Not real beach like, but still a nice view.  From there we headed inland on dirt roads, once again having to route around hunt club land. 

We were on the east side of US 19 on dirt roads when we got to the far end of one and found a locked gate.  Lucky for us this guy was locked in too.  His boss was on the way with a key.  While we waited he and Wayne realized that although there were water ditches on both sides of the road, there was enough dirt on one side by the gate that we could sneak by, so we did! 

At the end of the ride we went past camp to the end of the road to see the Econfina River.  In the 1860’s Confederate deserters camped along its banks and helped the Union forces.  It empties into the Gulf of Mexico about 2 miles south of here.  It is a small blackwater river; only 43 miles in total. A blackwater river is a river with a deep, slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling tea or coffee.  We didn’t think it was all that transparent, we just thought it was murky, who knew? 

Tuesday was move day again.  This time we headed to Crystal River and our appointment with the Sat Dish repair guys.  I sure hope it stays fixed this time!