3/6 More Topsail Hill Preserve SP

I went for another bike ride today down to the one of the dune lakes. Dune lakes are what results when a stream is blocked by dunes when it tries to empty into the ocean. They produce a lot of habitat for animals and birds. The water from rain goes into streams which eventually enters the lake.  It stays there until the lake overfills and breaks through the dunes.  It is always fresh water and is a brown color from the tannin from trees and leaves. Many of them in this part of Florida have been turned into manicured "lakes" for fancy subdivisions.

Here is a map showing two big dune lakes at Topsail.

Not much going on today down at the lake, but I stopped and took a few pictures.

The lake is a lot bigger than I expected.  No boats or watercraft with motors, but you can canoe or kayak. Note the brown color of the water.

I love the bike and hiking trails in the park!  I am afraid to ride my bike on dirt or gravel because of the chances of falling, so I love big paved trails.

Back to the main beach area where I was yesterday.  No walking on the dunes is allowed anywhere in Florida because the dunes are needed to protect against hurricanes and because they are wildlife habitats.

It was even windier and rougher today than yesterday.  The rangers had just put up a second warning flag.

No surfers or water-boarders today!!  What is really strange is that two years ago when I was in this area, there were barely any waves.

And this is not even high tide.  Anybody trying to sit on the beach was up against the bank. And most people did not stay very long because of the blowing sand.

The wind was really blowing the sand, so it was hard to walk very far.  And every once in a while, I had to run from a wave. 

Beautiful day, in any case, and fantastic, soft whiter-then-white sand.  (I was told it is quartz sand, not the usual Florida ground-up shell sand.)