Places Visited: Carrabelle, Ho Hum RV-Park, St. George Island

We stopped in Carrabelle on our way back home to visit with friends from Iowa that were escaping the cold for several weeks in the Florida Panhandle. One of the best campgrounds in that area is St. George Island State Park but it is closed due to hurricane damage suffered last summer and will not be open until near the end of next summer (2006). Snowbirds take heart it should be open for the winter of 2006. The next best place is Ho Hum RV-Park in Carrabelle a small private campground on the water. It is one of the few private campgrounds remaining in Florida on the Gulf or Ocean.

In the still of the morning this boater is slowly making his way to deep water. As you can see the tide is way out. They have four tides in this area, two high tides and two low tides. You might say the tide is always moving one way or the other.

From the dock at Ho Hum RV-Park in Carrabelle looking back at the campground. Note that this is almost high tide.

Looking east and west from the pier at Ho Hum RV-Park in the late evening.

To the right is an oyster bed at low tide.

This recreational oysterman is gathering oysters from shallow water with oyster tongs. You can see oysters piled on the front of his boat. The oysters on the front of the boat will have to be processed. The oysterman will take a break from the backbreaking work of tonging to sit down and cull the undersize oysters out of the clusters. Everything but the good legal size oysters will be returned to the water.

He is emptying oysters from his tongs. Note the dry oyster bar in the background.

This is a cluster of small oysters. The shells must be 3" in length to meet minimum size limits. Most of these are no more than 2".

This is what the beach looks like on St. George Island in the State Park. All the beautiful dunes are gone. All the sea grass is gone. The storm surge from hurricane Dennis that hit Pensacola last July 4th not only destroyed the dunes in St. George Island State Park but destroyed the road in the park as well. The campground is at the end of that road. It is operational but there is no way to get to it until the road is replaced. It should be open by September or October of 2006.

Until next week just remember how good life is.

Mike & Joyce Hendrix