There are no sand dunes in Miami, so Lou does not have
the same happy childhood memories as Karen about playing in the sand dunes
at Horseneck Beach. |
We got to Jockey's Ridge State Park about 9:30AM trying
to beat the heat, but it was already hot. We carried water with us and kept
our sneakers on even though they filled with sand. The park web site
warned that the sand would be 20 degrees hotter than the air and that you
should think about that before going in barefoot.
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We picked up the Nature Trail brochure near the entrance
and headed off into the dunes. We were following a family group, one kid and
a lot of adults. Almost immediately, there was a big hill and all the ladies
bailed out. Dad and son kept going for a little while, but then they bailed
too.
Having them bail out made us more determined to go the
distance.
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At first there were a lot of footprints in the sand, and
then as we got farther along the trail, the footprints grew sparse.
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We saw lots of animal footprints too!
The brochure contained sketches of various types of
prints that we might see including the Grey Fox, Six-Lined Racerunner
(lizard), Opossum, Sanderling (bird), Gull, and Deer. |
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In this picture, you can see a white post which is one of
the markers along the nature trail. There are 14 stations to visit. We saw
them all!
This was a particularly tough hill. You can't
tell, but it was a more than 45 degree slope that we had to climb up. It was
like being on a stair stepper at the YMCA! Every step, your feet sank and
you didn't seem to get anywhere at all. Halfway up, Karen dropped to all
fours and crawled. It was great to stand at the top and look back. |
We had to empty our shoes of sand twice -- once while we
were in the dunes and then again when we finally got out onto pavement.
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The nature trail took us to the water's edge, where they
are working on marsh restoration and have the marshy coastline all roped
off. |
Here's Karen wandering off ahead of Lou, oblivious to the
fact that he has been taking pictures of her.
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After the nature trail ended, we went up some BIG dunes
to look at the kites. That was fun! But Karen does not have the
best sense of direction and we ended up not being able to find our way back
to the car.
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We wandered through the dunes for what seemed an
eternity. Eventually we popped out into a neighborhood! We were so
glad to be off the sand. We talked to some folks in a car and they
told us that if we followed this road out to the main road, and then turned
right, we would get back to the park's parking lot. (Karen would have
sworn that we needed to turn left!)
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So the people drove off and left us! But there was
no room in the car, and so we started walking out to the main road.
But then the guy came back! He dumped everyone at the beach and came
back to save us! It was mighty hot by now. Turned out that they had
vacationed in Seattle the year before.
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What a great way to spend a morning!
Good thing we had a bottle of water with us. |
