March 3, 2019
Day 8 Palatka
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We had a wonderful ride today. It was warm and it didn't rain! Much of our route was on the Lake Butler to Palatka rail trail which was very nice.
As we started at the west end of the trail, we talked to a man who said that the trail was closed a few miles down the road due to flooding. It was good to know that, because we saw no signs at all on the trail. It was easy to detour on Hwy 100 to miss the flooded area and we were glad not to have to ride down to an impassable obstacle in the trail and learn the hard way we had to go back.
At the eastern end of the trail, we knew that we would have to exit the trail before we got to Palatka because the paving is not complete. Again, there were no signs at all, but we suddenly encountered this:
It was a short walk across the grass to get back on Hwy 100 into town.
Palatka is having it's Azalea Festival today. The street through downtown was blocked off, but we were able to walk the bikes through.
We're at a nice Hampton Inn with a lovely view of the St. Johns River and complimentary laundry facilities so we are set for a perfect evening. JS
Ken and I are really enjoying the new fauna and flora. We see tall straight pines, Live Oaks and Palmetto palms every day. Today we saw this blue flower that looks like a short lupine.
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http://www.southeasternflora.com/view_flora.php?plantid=788
5 years ago
https://www.waysofenlichenment.net/lichens/Cladina%20evansii
5 years ago
We also saw a Big Florida Fox Squirrel run across the bike path. It was larger than a grey squirrel and had a catlike quality to it. This youtube video will give you an idea: https://goo.gl/images/HcLTeG
A short ride to the Atlantic Coast tomorrow! FG
Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 279 miles (449 km)
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