Ride to WindmarkThe

When the St. Joe Paper Co. decided to switch from making paper to developing their vast tracks of land they conceived of the idea of an upscale area surrounded by the beauty of nature a few miles from Port St. Joe.  They invested what had to have been millions in solid infrastructure in roads, bridges, paths and numerous beach walkovers.  They also built a town center complete with pool and other buildings.  They even managed to talk the state and county into relocating a large chunk of Hwy 98, the main artery in this part of the state, and designating it as a non-motorized trail. This was all before the crash in the real estate market hit Fl.  Since then, there has been very little signs of life in the community until this trip.  We saw several new houses under construction but no signs of anyone who might live in them.  The new houses all seemed to be the popular-to-rent mega party houses.  They specialize in maximum number of bedrooms per square inch.  I can't imagine living near one of these things but I think that's the point, no one will ever actually live in them for more than a week or two.

The weather had really cooled off and we were riding into a strong north wind
so I layered up as much as possible and still be able to peddle.

Tougher David, wore shorts.  This is on one of the many
walkovers in the dunes.

We had to ride upwind going but the trip back with the wind at our backs was
much faster!

The view up the govt. Cut from the bridge.

The jetties from the water.

We were the only ones on this old section of highway.  Barriers at each end
assure nothing bigger than a bike or pedestrian gets in.

This section of old 98 was in the development area.  They only maintained
half of the roadway but the double yellow stripes let you know what it used to be.

We didn't have to stick to the shoulders since we were the only ones there.

Beautiful sky and water from the bridge.

The Southeaster Ship Builders is proposing to build a drydock
repair facility along this old seawall .  It would be a huge boon
to the town since they lost a lot of jobs when the paper mill and it's
attendant chemical plant closed about 20 years ago.

The shore just off of Widmark.

Shoreline from the bridge.

We think these are either condos or a hotel.  We saw no signs of life.

One of the manicured pathways within the development.

Town Center but mostly empty.

What a lot of wood to maintain.