Jupiter to Cocoa Florida

I headed north on SR 1 and my first stop was the Jupiter Lighthouse. Big, beautiful and red...quite a contrast to the green of vegetation and blue of the ocean. I then went to Jonathan Dickinson State Park and it was fantastic! It was my first time in the sand pine scrub ecosystem and this community is so rare that it has been designated "globally imperiled". I went to Hobe Mountain Observation Tower which is an ancient sand dune standing 86 feet high. The views are incredible in all directions. Hobe Sound NWR was next. A small but wonderful site on the edge of the sound. Rolling hills of sand allow a change in ecosystems from slash pine to ocean beach. Further north I finished the day with Pelican Island NWR. This was the first designated National Wildlife Refuge and it did not disappoint. It has two 3-mile trails around the salt marsh and one .75 mile trail and butterfly garden. Highlights for today: Gopher tortouise, land crab, family of raccoons, skink, Sooty Tern, Pileated Woodpecker and Least Tern.

Tomorrow to Merritt Island NWR.