Advice for traveling through Florida

[jim Glass]

Lots of people here from Florida so I have a question. We spend the winter near Crystal River Florida on hwy 19. In the past we have always made our way to Panama City then take highway 98 along the gulf coast to hwy 19 in Perry Fl.
We leave for Florida in 2 weeks. Is it advisable to avoid these areas hit my the hurricane or are the roads passable. We can avoid highway 98 and take I-10 and pickup hwy 19 East of Tallahassee. We sometimes spend the night at the
Walmart in Marianna Florida. Is Marianna up and running or a place to avoid? Appreciate any tips on driving through driving through the hurricane damaged areas. Already planning to gas up in Dothan Al. That tank of gas should get us to Crystal River. Thanks

[crashdive123]

I don't live near the Panhandle, but in my area (Jacksonville) we are still collecting and sending supplies to the area. Our utility crews are still there working to restore power. I believe that search and recovery operations are still in progress in a few areas. While the roads will probably be clear enough for you to make it through the way you described, it may be best to circumnavigate it. Any (or most) of the activity in the area is focused on getting things back to normal.

[Mannlicher]

I'd be taking I-75 down to Ocala, and then cut over on SR 200 to US 41. Several different routes into Crystal River from there.

[jim Glass]

We drove through Florida on Saturday. We stopped at the Florida Visitor Center for a FREE glass of orange juice and got some advice on Driving through the hurricane damaged areas. We were advised to avoid Mexico Beach but driving through Port St Joe would be fine.
We left the Walmart at Mariana Fl on hwy 71 to Port St Joe. Mariana had damage to some old store fronts on Main street. Brick buildings with fronts completely collapsed on the side walk in front. Lots of trees down, some barely off the road. Traveling South on hwy 71 the storm damage became more intense. Bloutville is where the eye of the hurricane must of past because nearly every structure had some kind of damage. Old or poorly constructed buildings were flat on the ground.
We had to stop a couple of times while cleanup crews cleared debris. South of Bloutville the damage seemed to diminish until we reached the gulf coast at Port St Joe. The gulf coast had wind and storm water damage. Hwy 98 was open but lots of patch work where the hwy completely washed out and was repaired. The most awesome sight was the rock riprap along the coast was washed completely across hwy 98. Some rocks were large, some to large for me to pickup. Appilachacola was ok but storm debris was piled along the hwy for pickup and some boats still sitting along the hwy. By the time we reached Panacea Fl the storm debris finally disappeared.

We had a great trip to Florida. Got here Saturday at 4:20 pm. Fed the wild hogs this morning and setup a tree stand and a trail carnera. I may hog hunt in the morning or wait until after I check the trail camera.

[Rick]

Glad you had a safe trip and made it okay.

[crashdive123]

Have fun and good hunting.

[jim Glass]

After the first night the camera over the bait pile was visited by a single coyote. Fresh hog tracks were in the general area though