TOUR AMERICA, 2021: SUNNY OAKS RV PARK, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA

Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Abundant sunshine, High Humidity, Temperature 89 Degrees

Fort Clinch State Park

This is where we spent the second half of our morning yesterday. This is also where our edict to stay away from people sort of went sideways. Not in the campgrounds but at the Fort and the museum associated with it. There were no extremely large crowds but enough unmasked people that we were a bit nervous. However, we wore our masks and when everyone when left, we went right. In essence for the most part we were able to avoid almost everyone.

This is the entrance to the park proper. The park, we discovered, consists of two campgrounds and Historic Fort Clinch. We were eager to explore all three areas.

Once you pass the ranger station this is the road that leads into the actual park. Note the warning about there being low clearance at various spots? Believe me, they are not kidding!

I kept thinking as we were driving in, this could get interesting with Elvira. I later learned that most people who bring any type of rig in here typically drive down the center of the road. Which is all well and good until you meet someone doing the same thing coming from the other direction!

Just a short distance in you come across a small pullout called Egans Creek on the left side of the road. Always the curious one I of course had to see what it had to offer.

There was first of all some information about a lighthouse. I discovered that the Amelia Island Lighthouse was built in 1838. It is the state’s oldest, and still operational lighthouse, and the only one that has survived without major rebuilding. The Coast Guard turned the lighthouse over to the city of Fernandina in 2001 and works with the city to keep it lit and in good working order.

The lighthouse sits on the highest point of the island. It is 67 feet tall and the walls at the base are four feet thick tapering to two feet at the top. Unfortunately, this is as close as we were able to get to it. I so wanted to climb to the top of this lighthouse even as I have with every other one I have visited.

While at the pullout I also learned this.

I always find it amazing what you can learn about the world around you when you take just a few moments to stop, look and read.

Continuing further into the park.

The Atlantic Beach Campground is the first and the smaller of the two campgrounds you come to in the park.

The sites here are arranged in a circle around the bathroom facilities that sits in the middle of the circle. The sites are open with no shade. There are only water and electric hookups. The Atlantic Ocean, though, is just on the other side of the dunes.

Leaving this campground we are now headed toward the Amelia River Campground and Fort Clinch itself.

We’re now at the entrance to the second, and larger, of the two campgrounds. But the Amelia River Campground is as different from the first campground as night is from day.

As you can see from this picture this campground is heavily wooded.

This is a typical site. It is completely shaded and has only water and electric. Moreover, anything over forty feet is just not going to fit. In fact, even forty feet is a tight fit. Not the place for Elvira.

Who are these two campgrounds for? If you have a smaller size rig, if you like to hike or bike, if you like to kayak, and you like to walk along the beach then you would probably love it in either one of the two campgrounds.

This would be our final stop for the morning. However, rather than try and cram our visit here into this blog we’ll give it a blog of its own tomorrow. So, till then. . .

Our continuing mission remains: Departing from our base as often as possible to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!