Bye-Bye Florida

Well, the forecast went from dismal to dire today. But - we started out the day dry!  For a block. Then we quickly went from a gentle rain to a downpour. We were on a busy and noisy road, and then added construction to the mix, which also took away our bike lane. 

Our route today took us inland, heading west most of the day. Yesterday I started noticing pine trees and today we encountered a lot of logging trucks and also their debris on the shoulders. 

The rain lasted just a half hour and most of the traffic went to/from I95 at about mile 13, so our day improved from there. 

At about 25 miles we turned onto quiet and smooth rural roads. We crossed over the creatively named Boggy Creek. 

Saw some nice flowers in the ditch. 

Saw some cows, horses and goats. Lots of cows in Alberta, but two differences with these. We don't have too many palm trees in our pastures. And - if you look closely you'll see a cattle egret to the left of the cow. These birds commonly hang out with cattle and eat the insects & ticks right off them as well as the insects stirred up as the cattle graze. 

The house below is typical of the ones on our route today, although some posher and lots smaller and not so well kept. 

Lots of pine forests beside the road. Obviously previously logged and replanted. Skinny trees, though!

A different variety of birds today. Bye-bye pelicans and other sea birds. I saw an owl, a great egret, cattle egrets, and lots of turkey vultures. 

Every little lane and driveway off the main rural road is named. I found the one below particularly amusing. 

About 4 miles from the end of the day we crossed into Georgia.  That means margaritas tonight!

The shoulder looked substantial, but was totally unrideable!  Let's hope that doesn't become a habit. 

Our destination tonight is Folkston GA. 

Two claims to fame. The Okefenokee Swamp is close by. We didn't go there due to crappy, narrow, busy roads. Second claim to fame. The Folkston Funnel. Every train that goes to Florida comes through Folkston. That's over 60 trains per day. Just 6 passenger trains (3 each direction ). They have a viewing platform and I had a nice chat with 2 good ole boys who obviously spend hours each day watching the trains go by. Went to the Folkston Museum and a nice lady there offered to take a carload of is to the swamp (we declined). Had a great long chat with another lady in another shop and she was looking for a way to follow us on-line. Very very friendly folks in Folkston. 

Small town that's well away from the interstate so we're spread over 2 motels. 

Stats for the day:

88 km from Fernandina FL to Folkston GA. Still no significant elevation gain/loss.