Walking Tour - Start
by grandmaR
We got a walking tour brochure from the Indian Temple Mound Museum. I think you can also get one at the Chamber of Commerce. The Walking Tour starts with the Indian Temple Mound and museum at 139 S. E. Miracle Strip Parkway. We did start there, but we didn't walk very much of the tour - I directed Bob to drive to most of the places in the car. We had the most problem getting pictures of the places that were right on Miracle Strip Parkway.
At the Indian Temple Mound Museum are all kinds of artifacts such as pottery and arrowheads. Some of the items (but not all of them) are from local Indians including exhibits that depict the four prehistoric cultural time periods whose artifacts have been recovered in the Northwest Florida region. These are the Paleo, Archaic, Woodland and Mississippian. There are all kinds of interactive exhibits for school children to participate in.
According to the museum website: Built as a ceremonial and political center by the Mound Builder Culture between 800-1400AD, this mound is the largest on salt water and possibly the largest prehistoric earthwork on the Gulf Coast. The Fort Walton Temple Mound stands 17 feet tall and measures 223 feet across its base. An estimated 500,000 basket loads of earth were used to create this earthen structure. In 1964 the Temple Mound was designated a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Historic Register.
The temple, on top of the mound, was used as the residence of the leader, a temple for religious ceremonies, and a place to direct the activities of the village. It was and still is a sacred burial ground
You can walk up onto the Temple Mound where there is a reconstructed temple. We also walked all the way around the Mound.
#14 Fort Walton Landing
by grandmaR
This park at 131 Brooks Street was one that we passed often when we were coming and going from our hotel - especially when going east toward Destin. It was the site of many early houses and is now used as a community gathering place for family picnics, "Sunday in the Park" and festivals including the annual "Billy Bowlegs Festival" held in June. (There were three men with the 'Billy Bowlegs' nickname.) In the summer they have Friday night flicks each Friday through August at 8:30pm. Free admission
The park has a playground setup. At the time we were there, they had an ice rink set up for the holidays. There were also many Christmas lights in the trees.
Theodores
by grandmaR about Staff's Restaurant and Docie's Dock Bar & Grill
The original Staff family that settled in Camp Walton was headed by Pop Staff whose real first name was Theodore (according to the newspaper that they give you with the menu inside). He bought the hotel which is next door to the present day restaurant, and built a garage for the guests cars next to it. Pop Staff's brothers-in-law the Gerlachs came down from Indiana and made the garage into a car dealership for such cars as Oldsmobile, Star, and Studebaker. The Staffs had 8 children including twin daughters, and one of the twins married a local man named Docie Bass. Docie's real first name was Theodore. He was the one that took the garage/car dealership and made it into a restaurant.
I gather that Pop Staff was quite a fisherman and often supplied the restaurant with some of the fish he caught. In any case Docie Bass named the restaurant after his wife's family and the associated bar he named after himself.
The lady that gave us the list of good restaurants on Monday said that we might find Staff's to be more expensive, but it was a Fort Walton Beach institution. She suggested that we go and have a drink at the bar and look at the menu, and if we felt it was more than we wanted to pay, then we could leave after one drink. We originally went to Rick's to see if they had Early Bird Specials, and the sign said they did, but they were closed on Monday and Tuesday. Staff's was open. They didn't have early bird specials like Sealand did but they did have specials.
I had the stuffed shrimp special for $19.95, which came with dark bread, a tossed salad (the dressing came in Mason jars - pictured), a piece of corn on the cob, boiled potatoes, and six shrimp with crab meat on top.
A dessert from the display table (top picture) was also included in the price. I got lemon meringue pie.
Bob had a tossed salad with shrimp (pictured) for $15.95 and he had carrot cake for dessert. The bill after tax was added was $37.
Navarre
by Ewingjr98
One visit to the Fort Walton Beach area, I stayed in Navarre at the Best Western. This is a pretty nice, newer hotel along the sound, and near some new shops, but there really isn't much around here to do. From Navarre to FWB is about a 20-30 minute drive, plus to get over to the nice beaches you have to cross an expensive toll bridge.
East Pass. This our entrance...
by Beachdave
East Pass. This our entrance to the Gulf of Mexico from the bay. Every morning you can many, many boats leaving the bay to go to the gulf for fun and fishing.
The sand is sugar white, the water is from white to emerald green to deep blue. Beautiful.
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Sign on the road
crab trap
These were on a sporting goods building
From the balcony
