Where's Wendy? Hobe Mountain!!

© Spellbound Images by Wendy - All Rights Reserved

Hobe Mountain... which I'm told is pronounced (Ho-bay Mountain), is located inside Johnathan Dickinson State Park, and is the highest natural point in South Florida at 86 feet above sea level.

We took the 10 minute hike up the mountain walkway to the look out tower used by the Army during WWII. I was impressed by the winding path way made of wooden slats much like a modern day deck. The park was home to some 6,000 officers and soldiers in 1942, used as a radar training camp.

From the look out tower you can see the entire expanse of the park where I photographed a 360° panoramic. If you look close enough you can see “Highway 1” that runs along the West Coast of Florida, the inter-coastal waterway, and the Atlantic Ocean all in one shot!

The Hobe Mountain tower is located on sand dunes and is surrounded by Sand Pine Scrub. Sand Pine Scrub is one of the oldest ecosystems to native Florida. They are an important habitat for wild life and act as a recharge area for the water table. They also provide a small amount of timber for paper making. Most scrub lands are endangered as they are high and dry areas that are not susceptible to flooding, so they are commonly used for golf courses, orchards, and housing developments. Hopefully this wont happen to Hobe Mountain, since it is located inside a State Park.

I hope you get a chance to check out Hobe Mountain, and Johnathan Dickinson State Park in your travels! Check back soon for my blog on the Jupiter Lighthouse!

Love, Laughs, and Photographs,

Wendy

All images captured with the Olympus E500 on Lexar digital media.