FT2018 Day 59: Best Western near Navarre Beach Causeway (mile 1074.9) to Bayview Campsite (mile 1088.0)

13.1 FT miles

Rambler and I were up and packed for the very beginning of the continental breakfast time at the Best Western.  I toasted myself a bagel and made it into a breakfast sandwich with egg and cheese. I also grabbed a huge biscuit and smothered it with gravy. To add to the fun, I ate 3 danishes.

Morning at the Best Western.

I went ahead and started hiking for the day while Rambler finished his coffee. I headed to the causeway that would take me out to the barrier islands.  On the way across it, I got great views of the sunrise.

Crossing the causeway.

Sunrise.

At the end of the causeway, I was supposed to turn right, continuing on the bike path across the island. Instead, I kept going forward towards the beach. I missed the beach and this one was so beautiful. I climbed the steps that crossed the dunes, admiring the beach and the pier.

Crossing the dunes.

Morning on the beach.

Navarre Pier.

Rambler came and joined me, as he had caught up. We then walked to the pier itself to use the bathrooms, then hit the bike path to start walking through the seaside village of Navarre Beach. I reached for my phone to take a picture of the raised homes flanking the street, only to realize that I didn't have my phone.

I let Rambler go ahead as I backtracked the 1.1 miles to the pier. I can only assume that I had left it in the bathroom. I got to the bathroom and it wasn't there and was a little panicked. I asked the people working at the restaurant if anyone had turned in a phone. Luckily, it was there! I grabbed it, then walked the bike path again.

Navarre Beach bike path.

The bike path stopped were Navarre Beach bordered the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Here, the trail was the beach itself. No signs, no markers, no beaten path, just following the beach westward.

Exiting Navarre Beach .

Entering the National Seashore.

The beach was absolutely gorgeous. It had powdery white sand and green-blue water. It was a little windy, but it smelled of ocean. I felt in my element. The shoreline was littered with Portuguese man o’ wars. I felt bad for the jellies, but it was cool to see them and some where still inflated in a vibrant blue and pink.

Gorgeous blue-green water. 

The Florida Trail, looking a little different.

Portuguese man o' war.

Man o' wars in a row.

Following Rambler's footprints. 

I walked until I got to Opal Beach, which had covered picnic tables and restroom facilities. It also had CopperTone and his trail magic van. Rambler was already there chatting. I was made one of CopperTone's root beer floats, this time with cookie dough ice cream. We stayed and chatted for a while before Rambler and I continued down the beach and CopperTone left to start his long journey back to California.

Opal Beach. 

My last root beer float.

Rambler and I walked the beach another couple miles, consistently passing washed up Portuguese man o' wars, another jelly, and a skate egg case. Eventually, we made it to a parking area where my Trail Angel was waiting. He had just flown in. Originally, he was supposed to bring me water, but I had just filled up at Opal Beach. He did, however, have a new DSLR for me. I switched out cameras, completed the digital setup on the new one, and then headed further down the beach.

Portuguese man o' war taken with my new DSLR.

Skate egg case.

Eventually, Rambler and I got to the section of the trail that was supposed to cross over the road from the ocean side to the dunes. We didn't see the blazes indicating a turn, but followed the GPS plot in the app.

Rambler working his way through the dunes.

There were supposed to be orange blazed posts marking the route, but we didn't see any. Rambler picked his way across the dunes without the markers. Surprisingly, he was following the GPS plot very closely without even knowing it.

Part way through we finally spotted the posts and followed them the rest of the way. We came upon a section of the dunes that actually had trees and other plant life. That was where the campsite was located.

Orange post through the dunes course.

White-sand dunes.

We walked past the campsites to the bayside waters edge. We found a concrete structure in the shade and proceeded to have a late lunch there. I ended up laying down and falling asleep.

Bayside rest spot.

After hanging at the structure for a couple hours, we headed back to the campsites and set up our tents. My site had a chair next to it, so Rambler came by and chatted for a while. While we were chatting, the winds picked up and a very dark bands of clouds moved in. We then retreated into our respective tents for the night.