Don Pedro Island State Park

This blog will chronicle our (Pat and Patty Anderson's)

cruising adventures on the Great Loop!

DAY 222 - November 9, 2017

We will be heading for Cape Coral tomorrow to stay with Cecil and Danny Hazen of Desperado before cruising the Caloosahatchee River on Sunday to "cross our wake," so we wanted to get as far along the ICW toward Cape Coral as feasible to make tomorrow a shorter day. We cruised from the De Soto National Monument to Don Pedro Island State Park, a distance of 62 miles!

We started out going our usual 7 mph, but decided we should put Daydream up on plane for at least part of the cruise to shorten the day. Where it was possible, we cruised at 14 miles per hour, and I estimate we were on plane for about two hours, so we probably covered 28 of the 62 miles on plane. Although we want to have the fuel tank as nearly empty as possible when we retrieve, we have to be mindful that we have enough fuel left to do the Cape Coral to Forest River on plane at least part of the time, since that will be a 52 mile day!

Screenshot of De Soto National Monument to Don Pedro Island State Park route

We had chosen the Don Pedro Island State Park anchorage because we needed to get to shore at the last anchorage on the final day of the great  "Baxter Pooped Here"  tour, (Jim, we have adopted your description, since it really is so apt).  Active Captain said dogs were welcome in Don Pedro Island State Park, The only problems were, first, we had a dickens of a time finding the state park, and second, when we did find it, we were doubtful as to how we would get Baxter to shore!

The Active Captain anchorage symbols for the Don Pedro Island anchorages were just outside the ICW channel. We had put a marker there, and stopped when we got to the marker. The reviews mention taking the dinghy from the anchorage under a concrete bridge to the state park dock. But  from the anchorage symbols, we could not see either a state park dock or a concrete bridge. At this point, it was too late to go anywhere else! We actually found the state park using the Maps app on the iPhone! We were close, but we could see it was a bit off the ICW through a narrow channel. Narrow and shallow!  It was hard to see the channel from the ICW, but once we knew what we were looking for, we finally found it. Once we were inside, we saw there was actually another Active Captain anchorage symbol in the little bay in front of the state park dock! This is not an anchorage for big boats, as the channel in was about two and half feet deep most the way! - 

Screenshot of Don Pedro Island State Park anchorage

Channel into Don Pedro Island State Park anchorage

We got inside the anchorage area, which opened up and got deeper the farther in we went,  and set the hook in 8 feet. We could see that the dock was a fixed dock, and quite high, which I might possibly have gotten on to from the kayak, but it would have been a challenge!

Don Pedro Island State Park fixed dock

I took the kayak down, Baxter and I somewhat dubiously got in it ,and I paddled over to the dock, When I got close, it appeared to me that we could go UNDER the fixed dock! I had to virtually lie down on my back, and Baxter somehow instinctively lowered his head, and we squeezed under the dock with about two inches to spare! Behind the dock, there was a little pool with a foot or two of sandy beach, where we landed the kayak!  This one was right up there with dancing on narrow rock ledges to get to shore in the North Channel!

Don Pedro Island State Park is just another beautiful state park on a barrier island. Here is what Florida State Parks has to say about Don Pedro Island State Park. "Beautiful Don Pedro Island State Park is part of an extensive chain of barrier islands extending along Florida's Gulf Coast. Between Knight Island and Little Gasparilla Island, Don Pedro is accessible only by private boat or ferry. Boaters can tie up at the dock on the mangrove-lined bay side of the island. Access the dock via the channel south of the Cape Haze power line crossing, but be sure to idle, as the channel is only 2.5 feet deep." We can attest to that last part from first hand knowledge!

After Baxter and I  returned to Daydream, Patty and I had our sundowners and a simple dinner of sausage patties and cheese grits!

Once again, the sun set over Don Pedro Island State Park, as it has for ages and will for ages to come. Still we never tire of sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico. It is a little sad to think that this is probably the last sunset over the Gulf that we will see for a long, long time - maybe forever...

Our last sunset over the Gulf of Mexico?

We ended the evening with a FaceTime chat with Romy who is 3 today.  We had hoped to watch her open the present we sent.  Reception was good.  We got her a doll house complete with furniture and a family.  Her reaction couldn't have been better.  She loved it and immediately started arranging everything.  Should be good for imaginative play for awhile.