Huntington Marsh Birds, [crabs, alligators and environs]

The roseate spoonbills are fantastic. A pair of eagles circled overhead then repaired to the trees to the west of the marsh.

Huntington Sights

This park is the result of Archer Huntington's wealth inherited as a stepson of a railroad and industrial baron -- how important it is to choose your ancestors well. According to Wikipedia this is still owned by his trust and leased to the state of South Carolina -- maybe he didn't need the tax deduction and didn't trust the state to not sell it off in hard times. Archer himself is remembered for his Hispanic studies and a marine museum in Virginia.

Atalaya is the partially ruined summer house on the park grounds that was built by slave labor -- admission $1. Across the highway is the extensive Brookgreen sculpture gardens that were developed by Archer's sculptress wife -- admission $10 good for seven days.



The alligator was back on his end of the little island in the late afternoon sun again today. Also saw one of the wood storks swoop by low and slow but couldn't get the photo because I had a big camera on the bike. As the tide went out from the salt marsh, I watched a couple of birds nearly gorge themselves on little fish as they were carried by the tide.

Today's hiking was over five miles. The biking total was about 20 miles -- all inside the park.


View Hiking and Biking the Huntington Beach in a larger map

Huntington Beach State Park, South Carolina

So many days in Myrtle's Beach. The pantry was running dangerously low -- yesterday's lunch: the last of the sandwich makings; dinner: the last of the RV dinners; breakfast this morning, the last of the fruits. We needed a shopping trip at least! But there is conveniently, a great little camping park just a little 15 mile jaunt further South. We asked about other RVers about it, but got below average responses -- thinking maybe skip it for a longer trip further into the warmth. No, a state park campground on the beach can't be below average if the state is fairly diligent about its parks.



So here we are, and so far it's another "Wow!" Now we feel quite a bit more removed from the city. On the beach, you can barely see any house much less hotel. This is a beach's beach. At low tide it goes on forever. Dunes with oats, sand and surf and not much else. We watch the foam build and recede as it moves back into the water. Fewer birds and fish than we have noticed lately. A couple with lines out does pull in a two foot shark that is released back into the surf.

The piece d'resistance though is the marsh. Here live a huge alligator, and birds galore. There are herons, ibises, storks, and the rare spoonbills. The picture button gets a big workout -- over eight hundred photos in one afternoon.

Crystal Clear Dawn in Myrtle Beach

It cleared during the night, allowing a pretty good view of the full moon. By dawn, there wasn't a cloud in the sky so we headed down to the beach for some sun and surf shots. The temperature was still in the 50s but it seemed warmer with full sun.



We will head south 17 miles to Huntington Beach State Park in the early afternoon.