St Joseph Peninsula State Park

This is a very friendly place.  In fact, we picked it as our first landing spot this year because we loved the familiar Michigan cadences of the  couples who volunteer at the park. Each morning they are cheerfully clearing a couple truck loads of vegetation just because it makes this place they love seem more orderly. 
There are lots of Northern Migrants -- Minnesotans, and Nova Scotians, and many from the snowy Midwest.   We have Great Horned Owls hooting across the campground and sometimes resting in the tree behind our site.  Coopers Hawks that drink from the little dishes we all keep filled below our water taps and deer which pass us just beyond the edge of the Palmetto. Many of the Migrants return each year and form close associations, but they welcome other wanderers readily. 
Two great nature photographers are working in the park and it has been fun meeting them and checking out their work.  Bill Gladish is at William Gadish and  Pete Dubaj is at Peter Dubaj 

Fishing with a big exclamation point was the first thing we heard about as we set up. 

“Someone just caught a 38”  Redfish in the Surf!” 

That fisherman turned out to be our neighbor Kent from Minnesota.  He and Kathy were eating a lot of Whiting all week, but the Redfish was a real trophy.
















The Peninsula has close to 20 miles of shore, half gulf beach and half bay side.  There is lots of room to wander.





















BIKING is back on our agenda, so we have been  riding the park roads and venturing on to the the bike trail outside. but mainly we have been enjoying new friends.