Sunny's Journal

Excellent weather finally returned to the Sunshine State. The bluebird skies and warm sun greeted all of the bikers and walkers who flocked to the extensive trail system of Palm Coast.

I started out on a portion of the Lehigh Trail, retracing my path from a few days ago, keeping to a paved path in case of puddles and dampness after four days of intermittent rains.

The leafless hardwood trees stand pale against the green tints of the saw palmetto and other shrubs growing on the damp and inudated soils of Graham Swamp. I found myself drawn to photographing reflections and treelines, mainly for amusement. Periodic bikers and walkers passed by with greetings.

Curious plants grow in the wet environment of the swamp. The trees are primarily hardwoods, oaks, Sabal palms, and on higher ground, the occasional Eastern White Cedar… a lovely full aromatic evergreen.

The Lehigh Trail runs east-west through southern Palm Coast, tracing an old railroad route from the now deterlict Lehigh Cement Plant located off of Colbert Road all the way to U.S. 1 north of Bunnell. I’ve only walked on a portion of the trail.

The lowland forest is quite different than what I was used to seeing in Washington State, but it possesses its own ragged beauty.

After completing about half of this section of the Lehigh Trail, I returned and circumnavigated Hidden Lake, a nice little conservation area located next to the residential development of the same name. There is a coquina path around most of the lake with some benches placed for contemplation of the view.

The Hidden Lake Trail parallels a marsh. Every low spot in Florida is probably filled with excess water after all the rain received this past week.

After completing my circuit of Hidden Lake, I drove over to Waterfront Park and found a shaded bench. I just wanted to sit outside for awhile and relish the view over the Intracoastal Waterway.

It was a pleasant outing today. Tomorrow, I may head out to A1A and take in a few beaches, Washington Oaks Gardens, and the River to Sea Preserve. Hopefully, this pleasant weather will hold, too.

I hope you enjoy my photos.

Eliza

Camera: Nikon Coolpix L830

Location: Flagler County

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The weather was a bit dreary as I headed out for another long walk (I also do long neighborhood walks!). It was breezy so I headed back to Graham Swamp Trail as it is protected from the wind.

The trail has a coquina (crushed limestone) surface for most of the way and then some boardwalk above swampy areas.

The trailhead is off of Old Kings Road and goes along the northern edge of Graham Swamp. Across a canal there is a housing development and another one near the end of the trail on Colbert Road, but most of the way, it is peaceful forest and an open trail. The trail can be accessed from a couple of different areas, including a neighborhood. It is popular with bikers, walkers, runners… but no skaters (the coquina is too soft and coarse).

It is a pleasant walk and today was no exception despite the gloomy skies.

The boardwalk was a little slippery in places as it had rained the night before. In fact, the weather people are forecasting quite a bit of rain in the next few days so I may not get out on any longer hikes the rest of the week, perhaps until Saturday. I don’t take photos in my neighborhood.

The entire area is honeycombed with canals to drain off excess water during storms. Parts of Florida were literally quite swampy before people started settling in the region.

So, I finished another four miles. I’m quickly losing weight due to all this exercise.

I’ll post another set of photos when I can get out, maybe this week, maybe next week. We’re going to be receiving a tropical storm from the Gulf of Mexico on Wed/Thurs so I probably won’t do more than a neighborhood walk in between rain showers.

I’m slowly learning some of the local flora. Red maples and Liquidambur (Sweetgum) grow in the swamp land. Live Oaks, Pignut Hickories and Sabal Palms grow in the higher islands. While the leaves don’t color up like they do further north with the cold temperatures, there is still some autumn color lighting up the woods. Also, a lot of Bald Cypress grows in damp places and is shedding its needles right now, piling up along with the needles from the Longleaf Pines.

Have a great week, everyone.

Eliza

https://sunnysjournal.com

Camera: Nikon Coolpix L830

Location: Flagler County, FL

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