Blue skies and sunshine, green leaves on tall trees – with not a breath of wind – a large, quiet, remote campsite.
That’s what greeted Betty & me today as we arrived at site 21 in Tate’s Hell State Forest, near Tallahassee, Florida. It’s about as far from hell as one could imagine!
After leaving Big Lagoon State Park near Pensacola, Florida yesterday, we drove along the Gulf coast to a Harvest Host location – Three Oaks Winery– northwest of Panama City. Having read and heard of the severity of Hurricane Michael in October, we were surprised to see little or no damage on our journey. The winery is only open on weekends in January, so the owners confirmed by phone that we would have the parking lot to ourselves for a restful, free evening.
Today was another story. As we made the short drive from the winery to Panama City, we began to see more and more garbage on the roadsides, and wondered if there was some sort of sanitation strike in the area. But once
we reached highway 98 and began to follow the Gulf coastline eastward, we saw incredible destruction along the way. With Mexico Beach as its apparent epicentre, Hurricane Michael ripped out almost everything in its path – from homes, to stores, to offices, to schools, to churches, to whole
forests. Most structures that remain standing are covered by blue tarps, awaiting roof replacements. The highway was washed away at many
points, and we zig-zagged around pilons placed near temporary patches. The road was reduced to one lane in a number of locations as crews worked to restore a major artery. In the meantime, we waited in long lines as traffic alternated through the construction zones.
For Betty & me it was no more than a minor inconvenience. But we couldn’t help but think of the hell experienced by those who lived through the hurricane, and the ongoing nightmare of trying to rebuild lives in a beautiful spot that is so vulnerable to
the extreme forces of nature. As we drove, we saw a lot of dazed looks on the faces of those we passed. But we also saw work crew after work crew beginning the rebuilding
process. Our hopes and prayers are that those in the Florida Panhandle who suffered through this extremely destructive event will have the resilience to experience blue skies and sunshine, green leaves on tall trees, and not a breath of wind for a while.
