March Equinox 2002

Deer Lake State Park before the fence

Deer Lake State Park (see map or more detailed map) contains a rare coastal dune lake in NW Florida. From the park entrance on Hwy 30-A, trees line the short road to a parking lot and rest area. A sand path continues south to the coastal dunes you must cross to get to the beach on the Gulf of Mexico.

This QuickTime VR (QTVR) movie is a panorama that shows the dunes on March 20, 2002, the equinox. The foggy morning filtered light blurs colors to brushed strokes of gray. It's a special moment in time.

Previously, people roamed freely in all directions, most avoiding the vegetation that catches sand and builds dunes. Fresh, fine white sand quickly filled in the footprints. It was a vast, awesome space - a desert moonspace emerging blindingly from rich dark green woods. At first I was afraid of getting lost.

After the 2002 March equinox, a rail fence divides the private property to the east from the park. See the 2003 and 2002 panoramas, where a roped-off trail guides park visitors across the dunes to the beach. See the same scene on the March equinox, 2003.

In March 2002, it would not be long before the adjacent private dunes and forest would be scraped for an Arvida housing subdivision called Water Sound. And another wild woud be consumed. Choose a version of the QTVR to see the wild:

• Small (270 KB)
• Medium (1 MB)
• Large (2.4 MB)

Walk east along the beach to see the Camp Creek Lake inlet. Enjoy views of the natural Emerald Coast (on the external web page bike tour, click "Seagrove Beach", the fifth white dot from the right). The background image on this page is abstracted from crab tracks. See Florida travel page. park, and year 2002.