Entrance road leading to the National Park and Campground.......No, it's not snow!
Path from Campground leading to the Bay
This was taken late in the day, so the sun wasn't so bright. Boardwalk across street from campground leading to the beach.
It looks like snow for sure in this picture. I just love how white the sand is here.
The previous 2 pics were so dark that I took this using the flash. Such a beautiful beach!
More of the same beach
Inside one of the buildings at Fort Pickens
Buildings here really show the damage done over the years, don't you think.
Another interesting building at the fort.Al and I were headed somewhere totally different, and decided to take a detour to check out this place. I had read about it online and was curious, so since it was in the general direction of where we were already headed, we decided to spend the night here. We were so glad we did, as it is really beautiful here. Located on Santa Rosa Island, west of Pensacola Beach in Florida, it is truly a National treasure. We only spent one night here, but I'm sure we will return sometime in the future.
We drove a mile down the road from the campground to see what the Fort was like. It was sad to see how the place has been affected over the years from hurricanes and such. Hurricane Ivan really did a lot of damage here in 2004 when it hit the Gulf Coast. The Fort was closed for a few years after that, and it just reopened in 2009. Ft. Pickens was completed in 1834 and was named after Revolutionary war hero, Andrew Pickens. It was built to fortify the Pensacola Harbor. Famous Apache Indian Geronimo, was imprisoned there from 1886 to 1887. They do offer tours of the Fort, but unfortunately, we arrived there too late in the day. One more reason to return.
What I want to know is how Al and I missed this while we were in the area for so long last year. Dang, oh, well, like you said, reason to return.
ReplyDeleteI love that part of the Gulf... We have been there several times and still love to return.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember a campground there though. Is it new?
If you have time, Fort Morgan is just up the road and a great place to visit also. Travel safe.
Helen
Helen,
ReplyDeleteThe campground is run by the National Park Service and is located on Ft. Pickens Rd about 1 mile on the right before you reach the Fort. There are 200 campsites and it appears to have been there some time. We are already way past Ft. Morgan, but will have to check it out next time we are in the area.
http://www.nps.gov/guis/planyourvisit/campground-openings-in-florida-and-mississippi-districts.htm