Gulf Islands National Seashore and Fort Pickens

Traveling along the National Seashore was a treat.  There are long stretches of pristine beaches, sea grasses, and ocean.  Right now you could walk for miles and rarely see a soul.  Last  evening we were on Osaloosa Island and walked along the shore watching the sun set.  It certainlywas good for the soul.

We saw an interesting site.  A helicopter was followng this boat at a high rate of speed.  There was some amazing maneuvering done by the helicopter.  We thought maybe they were filming, but were not able to verify.  It was fun to watch.  They traveled back and forth across the coast for quite awhile.

The next day we decided to go further down the National Seashore to Fort Pikens.  It is a National Park and on Martin Luther King Day admission was free.  We luckily arrived in time to take a tour led by the ranger.  It was very informative.  Like Fort Sumpter, earlier seen in Charleston, this fort along with two others were built to protect Pensacola from invaders.   Unfortunately, the only battles held at this fort were with the North and South during the Civil War.  This fort was held by the North throughout the war.

It was a large fort and the ranger showed us many of the details about its architecture  There were over 24 million bricks made in Pensacola and transported here for its construction, 

This fort is also famous for being where the Apache warrior Geronimo was imprisoned along with 14 other warriors.  They became Pensacola's first tourist attraction and were imprisoned here for about 14 months. 

Afterwards we went to the state campground. It has recently been updated. There is a lack of trees and vegetation due to hurricane damage.  The sites are all level with water and electric and cost about $24/night,.  A spectacular beach is just down the street from the campground,.  It would be a nice stay for a few days. 

It was a very nice day trip and we had great weather.