hauntingly beautiful: the dead lakes in gulf county, florida
Hello dear friends. I’ve missed you; have you missed me? Not so much? That’s okay, just lie to me. Entertain me. Pretend that you’ve missed me so horribly that you just can’t bare it. Okay, that might be a little much; but come on. It’s been a while.
In fact, it’s pretty much been a whole season. But I know you haven’t actually missed me; summertime, after all, is made for having fun outdoors. For soaking up all of the sunshine, sitting around campfires, and drinking cold beer on hot days. It’s for camping with friends, lying under the stars, and mostly surviving on food that is cooked on a grill or over a fire.
So if you haven’t missed me, I don’t blame you. It just means that you’ve been busy enjoying summer, and that makes me happy.
That said, I don’t know where summer went. Seriously.
I didn’t cook anything over an open fire, I did NOT go camping… hell, I didn’t even get a sunburn! Not that that’s a bad thing. I mean, it’s good to stay safe in the sun, but I feel like not getting a single sunburn says that I simply didn’t spend enough time outside. I didn’t even have to wash grass stains out of my clothes, or clean tree sap off of my hands. What has the world come to?
I have five days left until autumn. I better get working on my summer, eh?
In all honesty, it’s been quite the busy summer {busy with non-summer fun related things}. Perhaps instead of longing to enjoy those last few days of sunshine, I should embrace fall and look forward to those crisp, cool, autumn days.
That, or I could just spend my time day dreaming about sunny skies and clear blue water; sandy beaches and creamy grits; colourful seashells and beautiful birds…
Yeah, that sounds a little more likely.
Enter: the Dead Lakes in Gulf County, Florida.
The lakes, located in Wewahitchka {known simply as “Wewa” to the locals. Say it with me now: "Weeeeeeee-wahhhhh"}, are like something out of a fairy tale.
White Tulepo trees {remember when I went to the Tulepo Honey farm?} grow along the banks of the lakes, while long-ago cut tree trunks peek out of the dark water. The water was quite high when I visited, making for a slightly less dramatic scene, but it was still unlike anything I’d ever seen.
Now, I am determined to visit the lakes during the fall or winter: when the water is low, when the sky is dark, and the fog rolls in, creating a haunting environment that my camera and I can spend hours with.
As you can see, however, this place is stunning, regardless of the time of year. There are magnolia, bald cypress, and longleaf pine trees lining the edge of the water. There is soft, hanging moss that blows gently in the wind, and alligators slyly slinking around underwater. I couldn’t even cook this place up in my imagination; it’s somewhere I long to visit again soon, somewhere I hope to visit often.
Plan to be in the Gulf County area? Get in touch with the fantastic folks at Off the Map Expeditions. They’ll take you around the Dead Lakes, and give you a nice history and environmental science lesson while they’re at it.
