To Pensacola We Go

 The drive to Pensacola was a long and arduous hour and a half drive... nothing exciting happened.

I learned something about Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola when it comes to making future reservations. When I made our reservations I didn't pay attention to choices available, Maple Grove, Anchor Cove, or Battleship Row.  Maple Grove was on base, and the other two are located at the recreational area.

I did not choose the on base campground. The recreational area is a ways from the main base when heading to the commissary, and gas station.

As you can see, we had to make a decision on which way to turn... to the left was Battleship Row, and to the right was Anchor Cove. Give you a hint... we didn't turn left. Battleship Row was all 50A, water, and sewer (FHU). We learned that Anchor Cove was mostly 30A, with some 50A, water, and a dump station... and first come first serve.

Anchor Cove was probably the original campground, so the roads are a tad bit narrow, and sites are tight. The first site we tried to fit ourselves in didn't have the room to maneuver, so we found another site and got settled in.

I had to work around the trees on the sides, as well as in front as I was backing in. We started settling in and found a problem with the 30A electrical. I contacted the camp host and found out that there were a couple 50A sites still open... so off we went in hunt for the gold.

This was an end site, but it was not noisy.

The recreation area also had a marina where boats could be rented, or owners could launch their own boat, and there was plenty RV storage.

The first place we ventured out to was the Visitor Center. As usual, the place was full of advertisements, with a little description of the area. The Visitor Center is located on Emanuel Point, of Pensacola Bay. 

In 1559, the Spanish wanted to expand the empire, trying to establish a colony by sending a fleet of ships with 1,000 colonists, livestock, tools, and personal possessions. Unfortunately a hurricane wiped out the colony and the ships which were used as warehouses for material and food. Survivors were evacuated. The Spanish did not return to establish a new colony until 1698.

1992 part of the sunken fleet was discovered by archeologists with the state of Florida. 2006, another ship of the fleet was discovered by University of West Florida archeologists. Their finds included ceramic pottery, animal bones, stone cannon balls, and pieces of a suit of armor. The rest of the sunken fleet is still waiting to be found.

We strolled along the coastal wall, watching the fishermen.

This guy was not a bashful bird... he was waiting for the fishermen to fish so he could steal them. Talking with one of the fishermen, he explained to me the bird was even stealing their bait.

After we went through the Visitor Center, we headed to lunch, at a fairly famous eatery called McGuire's.

We were not afraid to spend money for lunch. Carol had a flight of their beers. Lunch portions were very large... and very good. There is a bit of history in this pub too. When it was opened in 1977, Molly signed her first dollar, and hung it behind the bar... the tradition cares on...

What you are looking at above Carol's head are dollar bills stabled to the ceiling... and they are on all the ceiling, and some walls throughout the dining portion of the pub. It is believed that there is over a million dollars. the server/waiter we had said that every year the money must be taken down and counted by an accountant, for tax purposes.

On base there was a opportunity to visit a couple of forts to visit. 

You see the fort? believe it or not you are standing at the bottom of the a fortified wall. Visitors must travel up the fortified wall to get a good picture of the forts... that's right forts. 

The first fort was built by the Spaniards in 1797 to protect the bay from the British, after they recaptured it from the British; that would be the fort called Spanish Water Battery.

Back in the days of this fort, there wasn't a whole lot to the fort in the way of creature comforts. Both of these forts experienced extreme deterioration after the Army abandoned the base in 1947. 1950 was a bad year for the Spanish Water Battery. A hard freeze caused the water battery's rifle gallery to collapse, and plants overgrew the structure. When the forts were turned over to the National Park Service, funding was acquired for restoration of the battery.

The portion above the doors is the rifle gallery. The doors are the entrances to the munition storage areas. The grassy area in the forefront is where cannons would have been mounted.

Each one of the half circles was a cannon.

Visitors need to walk through the upper fort to get to the battery... and it was an interesting walk. 

The light at the end of the tunnel is the entrance to the battery. 

The folks that accomplished the restoration did a very nice job when looking at the munition magazines.

Lets walk back up to Fort Barrancas. The fort was built in 1840s as one of four fortifications built to protect Pensacola Bay. Fort Barrancas was a "third system" fort.

FUN FACT: "first system" forts were constructed during the Revolutionary War, "second system" forts were constructed between 1789 and 1812, and the "third system" forts were constructed between 1816 and 1870.

This is the entrance to the fort, through a draw bridge. if you remember earlier I said that a hard freeze in 1950 damaged the battery... it damaged this fort as well, debris filled the tunnels and passageways. The same dollars they got to restore the battery, applied to this fort as well; again they did a fine job. Many of the "third system" forts

were built with a dry moat, but better known as a "killing field". All those openings are ports to fire rifles from. Walking across the draw bridge, visitors have the opportunity to see some fantastic workmanship. The workmanship we see today was done by men possibly using power tools, whereas the original workers only had hand tools. I found the enormity of the walls fascinating. Over six million bricks were used in thee construction of this fort. The walls

consist of the outer wall of brick, a sand barrier, and the inner wall. Walking through the corridors provides a window into the craftsmanship involved in creating such a fort. The arches within the corridors provides the best picture of the work required to make this fort strong. Some of the bricks are from the restoration process, but were done in the same manner as the original construction. The tool marks are from files.

Even the floors are brick, and due to water damage, are uneven in spots. 

it looks like an endless tunnel, but its not. Throughout the passages there are areas that cannons would have been placed, and herds of openings for men with rifles.

As with any fine fort, they had their magazines for stashing away ammunition. 

This is a look at a magazine with a flash... and without a flash.

Some of the passages appeared to be white-washed, but we later learned that it is actually a coating to protect the structure from further erosion. Walking down one of the passages we met up with one of the residents of the fort... not a ghost... a bat.

This fort was meant to do business when t came to protecting the bay. besides the cannons inside the fort for close-in action, there were cannons on the top of the fort so they could harass unwelcomed ships coming into the bay. These cannons were set up
to work in concert with the cannons located across the bay at the two other forts also protecting the bay.

Besides the fort on base, there is an air museum that is supposed to be pretty interesting, but we chose not to visit it this trip.

Along with all the forts in the area, we hit three Elk lodges. The one on the way to Fort Pickens is raised with a fantastic view of the bay... but the area was really really busy with vehicles everywhere.

Fort Pickens had a bit of history, from a deadly explosion to the detainment of Apaches prisoners. We will talk a little about the fort itself first. The fort is in more of a natural state of repair than our fort on the base. The original fort has outgrown its usefulness, as the brick walls just were not strong enough for

the newer artillery being used. The Army's answer around 1898, to the problem, was to built a fort within a fort, using concrete walls instead of brick. That was fine and dandy, but in June of 1899 the construction would be tested. The photo you are looking at is the result of a massive explosion in one of the gunpowder magazines, which ignited 8,000 pounds of gunpowder.

The explosion sent bricks and a 12 inch gun onto the parade grounds. The explosion was so great that it sent bricks flying across Pensacola Bay. Two soldiers were killed in the explosion. Imagine debris all over the parade grounds, and a huge 12 inch gun just tossed about. 

One of the upgrades the Army did was to add these huge rifled guns to the battery. These guns were capable of firing a 1,070 pound projectile 8 miles, then hiding behind the fortified walls.

This is what their launch pad looked like. The magazines for these massive guns are located under the gun mounts. The projectiles were so large that they were handled using elevators, and rails and crane systems.

The old fort was equipped with 15 inch Rodman "smooth' bore cannons. The barrel for this cannon weighs in at 50,000 pounds.

The rails allowed for 360 degree firing, but this cannon a never used in combat.

The area down here on Pensacola Bay is riddled with artillery batteries for the visiting. There is also a National Parks campground near Fort Pickens. After a stop at the Elk lodge we headed back to prepare for travel to Alabama.