Beginnings: St Marks town to Ring Dike campsite

As I stand at the St. Marks dock, looking at the salt march spanning to the horizon, I am filled with emotion.  All of the dreams that led to the planning has led us to this point in time and space. All of the leaving jobs, closing up the house, and farewells to friends and family have left an imprint that I feel at this moment.  As we take that next step into the unknown, I know that we are prepared in body mind and spirit.  I inwardly mark this time with gratitude and get on with packing the boats.

It wouldn't be a kayaking trip without noting that it took forever to load the boats.  It did. 
Our early departure was delayed by last minute preparations in town.  We got to meet some incredibly helpful and friendly people along the way. Captain Mike at St. Marks Outfitters will store our car and offered any assistance we might need along the way.  You really should check out his website and stop on by for a tour if you are in the area. The PostMistress helped us get the best rate on shipping food ahead and is even going to hold some packages for later shipping.  So with all of the town stuff we got down to the dock at 11 and departed at noon.

We finally dip our paddles into the water, take a quick video (which may never be published) and are on our way down the St. Marks river headed to the Gulf of Mexico.   Rod is paddling ahead and I see some fins in the water...we are being escorted by a bottle-nose dolphin.  Further on great white pelicans scrutinize our progress from their posts on the river bouys.  What a fortuitous beginning! 

As we are entering  St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge we imagine that we see a whooping crane in the distance.  We remember the Whooping Crane report that we heard at the park office the previous day.  The cranes have arrived on their long journey from Wisconsin.  They are still endangered and there are few spots in the US in which they overwinter.  It's an incredble story of their rearing and their flight led by a human in an ultra-light craft.  Rod comments that it really is great that wild places still exist in this world. 

The St. Marks Lighthouse marks our entry into the Gulf and the extensive sea grass beds that stretch for 100 or so miles.  We will soon enter the Big Bend Seagrass Aquatic Preserve, one of the remotest areas in Florida.  This is an important nursery for shrimp, turtles, crabs and other marine species. The water is shallow - one to three feet - and we spend most of the day peering into the water.  Rod see one sea turtle and we see many crab pots.  After paddling in the fierce waters off the Oregon coast, this is quite a treat.  The water is fairly calm, the winds are light and the water is shallow even 2 miles away from shore.

We reach Deep Creek around 4:30 with about an hour of light.  The shoreline from the lighthouse to here has been an unbroken stretch of marsh with a few stands of oak and palm trees.  It's a striking visual image, the thin golden line of saw grass sandwiched between the deep blue of the ocean and sky. As we enter the mouth of the creek, the marsh begins to take shape. Water paths appear providing endless directions for paddling.  Rod brings out the GPS with the camp coordinates.  Now that we know the path we can explore, quietly paddling where our fancy takes us.  Rod sees an alligator slide into the water and I see the tail and footprints in the soft sandy bottom.

We reach Ring Dike campground which is a large ring of oak trees growing beside a pool surrounded by dikes.  We set up camp in the waning light of the day, catching glimpses of the stupendous view as we work.  Marsh in all directions with no sight of the ocean, no sounds of city life and lots of fresh air.  The sun sets in a blaze of color and the first stars appear as we set down to eat our supper.  A good beginning.

Distance:  12 miles
High 70, Low 40 sunny