Venturing west of Gainesville and south of I 10 for the first time, I was excited to explore this part of Florida, referred to as the Panhandle. Oh, I had heard many folks warn me that this was “the real Florida”, or even “old Florida”, complete with the infamous and legendary “Florida Man” and adorned with hundred-year-old Spanish oak trees lining dusty roads and murky swamps surrounding backroads and sparsely populated towns.
We spent our first night at a Boondockers Welcome locale that fit these descriptions perfectly. Except, this home was beautiful and peaceful and sat on the edge of the long and winding Suwannee River. I didn’t know much about this historic river but soon learned about its storied past, it’s significance to Florida’s indigenous people as well as to the development of Florida’s timber, fishing, and transportation industries.
The river flows 246 miles from the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia all the way to the Gulf. It even has a catchy, albeit somewhat racist, song written about it, dating back to pre- Civil War times.
In more modern times, the Suwannee River has been impacted by hurricanes and rising floods, some storms causing the river to rise as high as 7 feet above normal.
We traveled through towns named Cross City and Perry, and then through Tates Hell State Forest. (I don’t think I would venture alone for a hike through that particular forest!)
We came upon the historic town of Apalachicola, with its pre-Civil War era built, brick homes and buildings which have been turned into cute and upscale stores along the Main Street, which included several bakeries, a bougie dog biscuit shop, a wine and cheese store, pizzerias, and craft beer bars. A very unexpected yet welcome surprise. The town was once the third largest port along the Gulf, and was an important trading port for sea sponges and oysters.
As we got closer to our destination, we passed Mexico Beach and Tyndall Air Force Base, which was very encouraging to witness so much building and rebuilding and expansion. This whole area had been flattened and completely devastated in 2018 by Hurricane Michael.
Category 5 Michael was third strongest Hurricane ever to hit the continental US by pressure and sustained winds over 160 mph, making a stronger landfall impact than Katrina, although Hurricane Katrina had a larger, more widespread impact post storm due to flooding than Michael. We looked up photos of the devastation that had been caused and it was truly remarkable to see seven years later the revitalization and rebounding that has happened. And yet, rebuilding is continuing today!
I looked up some facts on the Air Force base, and this is what I found.
Tyndall AFB will be the “Installation of the Future”, being home to the 325th Fighter Wing and the new home of the F35 Lightning II mission, with a focus on creating a resilient, sustainable, and technologically advanced base.
With the current state of world affairs and the uncertainty of common sense making a mass comeback, I was proud to see the investment into our country’s military strength and readiness.
Great post!