Today
I visited the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge with a friend. We
parked at the trailhead and hiked into the park. It's a relatively easy
hike from the parking area to the beach. Though, I do advise to go
prepared as if you're going on a full day excursion -- because it could
easily turn into one. There is so much to see and once you get to the
beach, you'll want to stay a while. Also, don't forget to bring
sunscreen and a hat! When you get out of your vehicle, you'll be under a
shaded canopy of trees, so it might be easy to forget in that moment
that most of the time you'll be in direct sunlight.
This great blue heron was cautiously curious about me. At first I was
afraid that she would fly away when I started taking photos, but she
didn't. She drew closer and closer. After snapping several photos, I
walked away and began looking at seashells. Sometime later, I looked up
and there she was, watching my every move. Perhaps she was hopeful that I
was hunting some delicious snacks to share.
This
crab was curious about me, too. At first he ran zig zagging across the
sand when I approached him, but once his adorable little eyes spotted my
red camera, he stopped to peer over his shell at me.
I think butterflies can sense my overenthusiastic energy as I'm flitting to and fro, trying to catch up with them long enough to snap a photo. They usually fly off into the brush, where I can't go, but this one decided to stay and open their beautiful wings for a quick photo!
As we rounded the trail, we startled a snake who quickly slithered into the brush. Then this little guy popped out for a quick howdy do. Glad it wasn't the other way around.
As I always do on these blog posts, I'll comment on the restroom facilities at this park. About a quarter way up the trail from the parking lot is a single brick and mortar outhouse. It's not marked, but it's the only building around, so you won't miss it. I can't recall, but I'm pretty sure there was no electric light. The light was coming in through vents near the ceiling. Extremely bare bone and basic, but at least it's there and it's relatively clean. Might want to BYOTP!
Until next time.
Carpe diem, my friend!
