Rockhounding

Yes, it must be a word, because our next stop was Rockhound State Park, located on the western side of the Little Florida Mountains.  We scored the last site in the dry camping loop – oddly numbered 0.

The wind continued mostly unabated for the three days of our stay, but we were able to hike the park trail when the wind dropped below 30 mph. 

Looking down on the campground.

Rockhound SP is unusual in that each visitor is allowed to take 15 pounds of rock.  Souvenirs can include a variety of rock and minerals, including silica, quartz, chalcedony, agate, common opal, jasper in a variety of colors, and geodes.  Ron carefully inspected this rock for hidden treasure.  (You can’t see it in the picture, but it was really sparkly.)

Ron went off on his own and found some interesting specimens including some cool yellow jasper, while I continued hiking along the slopes of the Little Florida Mountains.

Off to the west are the (big?) Florida Mountains.

I’m sure this little bird was just as disgusted by the wind as we were.  (After looking through the bird book, I’m guessing she’s a black-throated gray warbler, because of the white eyebrow and black breast which is not visible in the picture.  Feel free to correct me if you know otherwise.)