On the Water at Flagler

November 19-December 3, 2025                                  Most Recent Posts:
Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area                         November in Florida
Flagler Beach, Florida                                                      October Finally Fall

The trip from Fort Clinch to Gamble was only 2 hours but moving takes the entire day to pack up, disconnect utilities, hook up the car, dump the tanks, drive,  unhook the car , get the RV into the site, level it up, put out the slides, hook up the utilities.   Thus a 14 days stay is really only 12 days.   Enough grumbling.

Everything went fine even the potential problem with a jack refusing to come up didn’t happen though the tow bar wouldn’t release when I got here  despite  Eddie’s attempt to fix it back in Virginia.  That means to get it to release, I have to bump the car a tad into the RV which I hate to do.   I’m afraid I may be in need of a new Blue Ox tow hitch.   Ouch to the wallet.

This is my favorite site and I tried to get it again for next year but it was taken, actually by some friends of mine, for the two weeks I needed it.  Nice for them, Bummer for me.

The only problem with this site is that even with the awning out, there isn’t really much shade and thus I put my chairs under the palm frons.

Bad planning on my part with no left overs in the fridge.  Too tired to cook dinner so I went up to Wham Burger and brought home take out.  Just going inside always makes me smile.   They have a great “smash burger” and way too salty fries which I put back in the bag alone and shake like crazy to get the salt off.  
Anybody else ever been to a Wham Burger?  I’d never heard of it until I started coming to Flagler Beach

After dark, I was reading when I heard something strange.  It sounded like pouring down rain.  Rain wasn’t in the forecast and it sounded heavy so I went outside to find water pouring out of my water pump bin.  I turned the flashlight on it but couldn’t figure out how to stop it without just turning off the water completely which I did.   That meant an RV tech tomorrow.  SIGH.

The only RV tech around is here Atlantic RV Service which has a monopoly and IMO took me for a ride.  I’ve used them before in a pinch and they are always high.  But this was ridiculous.   They are based in Flagler Beach and based on how long it took him to get here couldn’t have been  more than 5 miles from the park.  $125 jut to drive out here.  $175 an hour for the 10 minutes it took him to discover a PVC elbow in the water pump hose had split and needed to be replaced and do the replacement.   The 1.5” elbow which costs about $1.00 at Lowe’s cost $18 in parts.  Total bill $300 for something David could have fixed in the same 10 minutes and I can now fix myself.  Wish I’d known and had confidence.   UGGGG!   BUT, I do have water.

Beautiful days followed.  I took the kayak out and didn’t have to go beyond the put in dock to see an Anhinga.   Amazing that he let me get so close as he dried his wings.

Among the reasons I like Gamble Rogers is that the North side of the park is on the Atlantic Ocean and the South side on the Intracoastal Waterway. 

Just across the Intracoastal are mangroves which are fun to paddle in.

                  Immature White Ibis

There are other homes on the edge of the mangroves but this one has none near it.  Nice views.

It was a great day for spotting water birds.

Great Egret

Tri colored heron in the top of a mangrove tree.

Little blue heron

Osprey looking for lunch.

juvenile and adult Ibis

Luckily I had this one day without wind to cross the Intracoastal Waterway and avoid the large boats.

The boat basin that connects to the Intracoastal is a wonderful place to see the sunset.

There are other excellent spots as well.

I walk over through the Maritime Forest on the Joe Kenner Nature Trail to go out for dawn.  I often have to use a flashlight on the way over.  It’s dark under the trees.   But not after sunrise, when these pictures were taken as you can see from the light streaming in.   I really love this trail.

Dawn over the Atlantic.  Today I’m not the only one out for it.

And sunrise.

I’ve never seen an Ibis in the ocean shallows.

I’m not sure what this fisherman was hoping to catch but it was great watching him hurl his neat out.

He wasn’t looking for sand crabs.  Is this one giving me the eye?

I’ve been coming to this beach since 2011 and do not ever remember seeing Ibis by and in the ocean.

Those who follow me know that when a park I am staying in is near a small town.  I always visit the library.   Walking to the Flagler Beach library gives me a good 3 mile walk one way.

It has a very large Little Free Library outside and a room in the back with donated books for sale.  I always check out both.   You never know.

Speaking of books, I learned that the National Book Award Winner for 2025 was the book The True True Story of Raja the Gullible and his Mother which I listened to in early October as part of my effort to read all the finalists.  I couldn’t understand how it even got nominated.   Same with Flesh, winner of the Booker Prize for which I also read the finalists.  I DNF’d Flesh.  Obviously I don’t have good taste in Award winners.  I was pulling for Audition for the  Booker and The Antidote for the National Book Award.   If you’ve read any of these 4, I’d love to know what you thought or what I missed in the first two.

Another day, another lovely sunset.  

I was able to go out almost every morning for the sunrise.  I don’t think it’s possible to go out without taking pictures of it.  And then I have to try to choose which ones to post which is nearly as impossible.

On this day, it was so windy even with the tie under my chin for my hat, I had to hold on to it to keep it from being ripped off and choking me.    Wind was the common denominator my second week.

So far this winter I’m not having much luck getting on the water.  Sadly, I only got out to paddle once during my time here because of the winds.  Though it was great enjoying the resulting power of the ocean waves. Here’s a video if you’d like to see them in motion and perhaps hear if it’s possible over the wind.

Clearly this kite surfer was happy with the winds and waves.

There was a fair amount of sand castle building going on as well.   If it had been earlier in the fall, these guys with their deep holes would have worried me.  More on why later.

This was my favorite of the creations on the beach.

A few days later walking down the beach  I came upon a couple of women staring down at the sand.   They were watching this little baby sea turtle.  SO CUTE! Naturally I watched too.

Sea turtle eggs here in Flagler Beach are usually laid in May-July and hatch 60 days later from late summer into fall like September but not in late November.   Those big holes the boys dug would have doomed this poor baby who was having enough trouble.

We watched him struggle valiantly toward the water.  I took this video of his efforts.   He got to the water and a wave rolled in, picked him up and set him further back up the beach than he’d started.  At that point one of the women called turtle rescue for fear he would harm himself getting so tired.   I was so glad they were there and knew what to do.

The wonderful volunteer came to get him and said they would keep him long enough for him to get a little bigger and stronger and then bring him back to this spot and watch him make his way.   She said he was a green turtle and that Only about one in 1,000 to one in 10,000 sea turtle hatchlings that go into the water from Flagler Beach, Florida, are estimated to survive to adulthood. This extremely low rate is consistent with general sea turtle survival statistics globally.   As you can see my initial picture of him was enlarged considerably.  He looked so small struggling in the sand and in her hand.

I know they will put him out on a much calmer day than this one.

Have to post this picture of me walking in the water at the end of November just to remember how great it was.   No swimming but the water was wonderful.

I had some interesting neighbors in the campground this time.   I never saw them around their campsite so I unfortunately didn’t get to meet them and hear their stories.

I’m  not sure if this is a Snowy Egret or a Little Egret with his black beak and legs but I’m pretty sure he’s a fresh water not a salt water wader.   This has seemed so strange to me seeing these waders in the surf.   Where are you Laurel to tell me if this actually is as unusual as it seems to me?

Judging from the size of these waves, it’s a good thing they can fly out of harms way.

The final sunset for me and Winnona before heading back to Fernandina Beach for an unusual second time during a winter.   I’m finally going to see Dickens on Centre.