1259 April 11, 2025 Hagen’s Cove And Tide Swamp

I walked from the campground to the local beach area and then did a second lap for more than 2 ½ miles.  All along I could hear machines moving, chain saws, drills, the whine of circular saws; people were working on their houses and properties.

We took our bikes and rode on the bike trail.  We saw this small 2-foot alligator.

We passed the boat pushed among the trees.

We took the side road to the small community of Cedar Island.  More mangled remains of houses.   Everywhere we looked something was irrevocably broken. 

We took a second side trip to Dark Island and Tim took this video.

We cycled almost 9 miles.

For lunch, we packed a cooler and drove to Hagen’s Cove Recreation Area.

Willets in the water.

On the way out, we spotted this bald eagle sitting in a dead tree.

We drove further to Big Bend Wildlife Management Area – Tide Swamp Unit.  We took gravel roads down to a boat ramp and then through the backcountry.

We got on Hog Root Road and had the windows open and hit a mosquito hot spot and they were flying in and swarming and we were swatting and Tim was trying to back us out of there and turn us around.  I put the windows up and killed as many as I could; blood and dead carcasses on my hands and arms and on the dashboard and windows.  It was pretty intense for a couple of minutes.  We drove out and as long as we kept moving, the mosquitoes didn’t bother us anymore!  I wish we had video of it…I am quite sure we looked panic stricken and ridiculous!

We followed the roads for miles.  We had taken a picture of the park map at the entrance and we knew we were making a large loop back to the highway.  At the last turn, there was a locked and chained yellow metal gate.  Tim got out to try to open it but it was definitely locked.  We turned around and went back the way we had come…we did NOT go back onto Hog Root Road!

Cormorant on a post.

This evening, we went to Nowhere Grille for dinner.

We had good food and then we were waiting for the live music to begin at 6:30. Just minutes before the show was supposed to begin, there was a drenching downpour. The wind was blowing the rain into the outdoor seating area. We stood by the bar to stay warm and dry. We decided to go back to the RV. The sky was dark and threatening and we got a tornado warning alert on our GPS.

By sunset, things had calmed down. The winds laid down and the water was still. Last night here in Keaton Beach.