Our road trip to escape Wisconsin’s winter continues with six nights on Long Key – the barrier island that is home to St. Pete Beach. Three bridges lead into the city and connect it to three areas of St. Petersburg. With an average of 361 days of sunshine per year, we may finally get the warm weather we’ve been craving.

Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
To start at the beginning of this series, visit Dodging the Deep Freeze 2020.

One thing I love about road trips is that you see things that just beg to be googled. Along our route near Cedar Key yesterday were small piles of dirt or sand in the grass alongside the road. The piles seemed like the handiwork of a gopher, but since we both wanted an official version (and we needed something to entertain us for a bit) Jim googled it. This picture and description answered our burning question and just made my day. “They are actually dirt mounds dug by the pocket gopher, also known as the “sandy-mounder.”

A Favorite Timeshare of Many

We met the Bluegreen at Tradewinds Resort with great anticipation, since it is one of the favorites among our timeshare friends. It is also one of the higher-points resorts in the Bluegreen repertoire – given the fact that there are only partial kitchens, no grills and the rooms are on the small side. Once we checked in, all of those downfalls seemed to melt away.

Lots of Amenities

Bluegreen only occupies one of the buildings at the Tradewinds Island Grand Resort, but use of all of its amenities comes with a reservation. The list of activities for the kids would make this a great family destination, and with five heated pools, a three-story inflatable slide on the beach, and 14 restaurants, it would be possible to vacation here and never leave the resort! The resort is beautiful, with plenty of paths to explore and peaceful places to relax and enjoy the sunshine or a sunset.

Relax and Unwind

After two days of exploring the area between our last home-base and this one, we were ready for some relaxation and beach time. Since it was early February, beach time wasn’t so much laying on the beach and soaking up the sun as it was walking on the beach and soaking up umbrella drinks. The Tradewinds offered a way to “earn” t-shirts which involved coupon books and several of the establishments at the resort.

Fort De Soto Park

But you know us – we have to get out and explore a little, and after discovering an IHOP right down the block, we made a plan for brunch and a day trip to Fort De Soto for some history and a LOT of bird watching.

“Welcome to historic, picturesque, natural and recreational Fort De Soto Park where visitors can swim, picnic, fish, bike, birdwatch, camp, boat and much more.

Fort De Soto Park is a chain of interconnected islands, or keys, providing 1,136 acres of beautiful parkland and beach. A source of great pride for Pinellas County, the park hosts more than three million visitors per year.” – READ MORE

Sandy Beach and Birds!

This place combines over seven miles of waterfront, almost three miles of beautiful white sandy beach, an extensive history and a lot of fabulous birds for one great afternoon. If you are a history buff, please click this link for a great resource from the park that includes the details, but in a nutshell:

The Tocobaga Indians lived here first, several Spanish explorers (including Hernando De Soto) visited in the early 1500s. In 1849, U.S. Army Engineers (including Robert E. Lee) anchored offshore on Mullet Key to survey for coastal defense. The area was used again during the Civil War, the Spanish American War, and World War I. After World War I it was sold to Pinellas County for private use, which was short-lived and the government bought it back when World War II broke out. After the end of World War II, Mullet Key was sold back to Pinellas County and on May 11, 1963, Fort De Soto Park was officially dedicated. Whew!

Bird’s Eye View

After we paid our $5 fee, we parked and walked up a sidewalk ramp to the top of a small hill. From that point we had great views of the Gulf of Mexico and another white sandy beach. Fort De Soto Gulf Pier is pictured on the right and we’ll come back to that later.

We took some stairs, which lead down to either the beach or the Fort. As we proceeded to the backside of the “hill”, we discovered it was actually a fortification with a great display of the remains of this military post, built after the U.S. entered the Spanish American War.

Mortar Batteries

Two mortar batteries defended the fort. Battery Laidley contained eight 12-inch M 1890-MI mortars. Of those eight, four remain (two are shown below) and they are the only mortars of their kind left in North America. Battery Bigelow contained two 15-pounder, 3-inch Driggs-Seabury rapid-fire guns, but it collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico. Its ruins can be seen from shore in the surf below.

While I waited for Jim to finish up, I sat down on a bench and was blessed with the presence of an Osprey high up in a tree. Although he didn’t smile for the camera, he did sit there long enough for me and the camera to get a good look.

Dinner Time

I started to walk over to the pier and Jim decided to grab the car to make our exit quicker and easier when we were finished here. That turned out to be a great idea because we spent a lot longer here than either of us expected we would.

We found a shorter pier and had some great views of the sparkling water for a while, until we were left with a pretty grey day. When we first arrived there were only a few birds around, but someone must have rung the dinner bell, because it wasn’t long before chow was ON! What I found was that pelicans are quite the contortionists as they dive for their dinner, and some of these pictures just cracked me up.

Resting Place

A partially submerged pier or something concrete created some interest and a landing spot to rest. Could this be the remains of Battery Bigelow that collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico?

Fort De Soto Pier

As we came up to the Fort De Soto Pier, it was quite impressive – and teeming with pretty-birds, playing on your sympathies for a few snacks. It was clearly marked on signs to keep the wildlife wild and resist the urge to feed them. What a wonderful testament to nature and the beauty of the Gulf of Mexico!

Distant Lighthouse

We saw Egmont Key Lighthouse from the pier and we stopped at another area where the ferry to Egmont Key departs. Turns out we missed the boat – literally. Since it’s early February, the ferry only runs on certain days and today was not one of them. We pencilled in another trip to Fort De Soto next year, as well as a ferry-ride to Egmont Key Lighthouse. Today we’ll have to settle for a few more birds!

From that same vantage point, up the coast we could see a huge flag with a nest on a high pole and there was definitely movement. We drove up the coast a ways till we found that big flag and pulled over at a ranger station. I walked the path down toward the shore and got a pretty good view of another Osprey. What a fantastic day!

A little history, the Gulf of Mexico and LOTS of birds. Life is good!

Next up: Gardens and Glass

Happy trails,
Barb