Turtle Tales: Interesting Meanderings.......

Our goal today was to seek out four lighthouses; Crooked River, Cape St. George, Cape San Blas and St. Mark's. We were able to see three of the lights. Cape San Blas is on Government property and they had the access road to the lighthouse closed. We thought about going around the long way and walking the beach, but it was a long hike and rain was threatening, so we decided against it. They are actually in the process of moving the Cape San Blas light and the keepers quarters to town which will make it much easier for lighthouse fanatics to view which makes sense as the lighthouse is no longer used for navigational purposes.

Par for the course, it rained on and off all day today. Some times it was a light shower, and other times it was a heavy downpour. All this wet weather is getting old fast! Wiping the dogs feet before entering the RV is getting old as well. Now even if the sun makes an appearance, Lacy stops at the door and waits for her feet to be wiped dry!

When we visited the Crooked River Lighthouse in the early 80's it was for sale, abandoned and off a hard to drive dirt road. and overgrown. It was to say, in very bad shape! Now many years later, it has been purchased and operated by the Carrabelle Lighthouse Association, has a keepers house and a bright coat of paint - but no lens. It was built in 1895.

The Cape George Lighthouse was built in 1852, and was destroyed (fell over) in October 2005 after Hurricane David. The Cape St. George Lighthouse Association played a vital role in restoring and rebuilding the lighthouse in town, using those materials salvaged from the site of the ruined lighthouse. The interior of the lighthouse is lined with bricks that were used in the originally built lighthouse of 1852.

St. Mark's lighthouse was built in 1842 and is currently an active navigational aid, operated by the St. Mark's National Wildlife Refuge. Thanks to our Golden Age pass which gets us into National Parks at no cost, we were able to view the lighthouse without paying a park fee. There is a lot of wildlife in the area, particularly alligators, so we felt right at home!

Carrabelle, Florida is an interesting town on the panhandle coast of Florida. This area is know as the "forgotten coast", but we are not sure why, as the area is full of summer residences and many seafood eateries. We had lunch at a restaurant called Carrabelle Junction as we had heard that this was the place to go for 50's ambiance and great food including soda fountain treats. We were not impressed with the food, but the ambiance was nice. Jim's biggest disappointment was that the jukebox did not work and the prices were outrageous!

As early as 1528, Spanish explorers were in the area. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Carrabelle served as a staging area for raids on other ports. The town was founded in 1877 and was originally called Rio Carrabelle. In the following year, the Post Office was built. By 1881, the population was about 600. Today's population is about 1,303! In August 1899, a hurricane hit leaving just nine homes in the area. In 1942, Camp Gordon Johnston opened to train amphibious troops for WWII. After training a quarter-million men, it closed in 1946. On August 23, 2008, tropical storm Fay made its' record fourth landfall at Carrabelle. Carrabelle is surrounded by the Crooked River, Carrabelle River and Ochlockonee River and the Gulf of Mexico

Carrabelle's claim to fame is it boasts the "World's Smallest Police Station" . (It's a phone booth!)

The "World's Smallest Police Station was established on March 10, 1963, to allow law enforcement to make phone calls protected from the elements. it's an interesting story and you can read it at:
www.carrabelle,fl.com (select the Wikipedia site)

Of interest to us, is the number of bear warning signs in the area. Who knew?

Did I mention it rained on and off all day? Enough is enough , is enough, is enough.......