Days 149 & 150 – Port St Joe Marina to Scipio Creek Marina, Apalachicola, FL - December 2-3, 2011

We had very cold nights while in Port St. Joe and there was frost on the dock and the boat both mornings.  The sun was out when we departed, so it felt quite nice at the helm station.  We have a short day today to the town of Apalachicola, Florida.  Most of today’s trip is in creeks and rivers, however we do cross Lake Wimico.  The deepest part of Lake Wimico is just 5 feet 9 inches, so we follow the channel markers closely to stay out of any shallow water.

The town of Apalachicola was established in 1831.  Shipping cotton was their big industry and the town soon became the third largest port on the Gulf of Mexico.  Steamboats full of cotton came down the river where they were unloaded in town and then transferred to shallow draft schooners that shuttled the cargo to ships moored offshore.  In the late 1800’s timber became the new industry in town with several big lumber mills being built to process the cypress trees from the forests of Franklin County.  Finally, by the end of the 19^th century, harvesting oysters and seafood became the important industry.  Today Franklin County harvests more than 90% of Florida’s oysters and 10% of the oysters consumed in the nation.

             Miles: 30.2      Bridges: 2        Locks: 0

we passed a group of trees that were covered in Turkey Vultures -
there had to be 50 or more of these birds spread across
a few dozen trees

we passed through miles and miles of cypress swamp today - this probably
looks better in the summer with leaves on the trees, but it is
still awesome to see, even in the winter

more cypress swamp

and still more cypress swamp

we saw another bald eagle today (much more majestic than the
turkey vultures)

the waterway as we approach Apalachicola