Mississippi Day Four: An Afternoon Hike And Sunset At The Lake Mars Pier And My Own Private Beach

I knew, after my Saturday morning visit to the Lake Mars pier in Ocean Springs,  that I would have to return. The skies cleared and it was a sunny afternoon so I decided to  take the 20 minute drive from my hotel in Pascagoula to the Lake Mars pier. I hoped to photograph the shore birds in the brilliant late afternoon sunlight. 

When I arrived I didn’t see  a bird  near the pier. I then realized the reason for all of the  shore bird activity in the morning. It was low tide. The ocean receded exposing  large areas of the shore line, and the tiny creatures that live in them, to the feeding birds. It was now high tide and the waters of the Gulf of Mexico   now covered these exposed areas. There wasn’t a shore bird in sight. I am sure they found other feeding spots on rivers or inlets on the Gulf. But they weren’t here. 

I decided to do some exploring and was so glad I did. I left the Lake Mars Pier and found a trail.

I followed it and it took me to a path  along the shore.  I found my own private beach along the Gulf of Mexico.  It was beautiful and unspoiled, except for  some liter left  by other visitors to this secluded area. 

The trail followed the shoreline with some sandy beaches, rocky abutment  and small pools of water. 

There was a grassy meadow along the beach. Now, I had the perfect sunlight conditions for photographing the birds, but there were no birds.  Well, except for the sedge wrens.

There were numerous sedge wrens   scurrying in the sedge and grasses

growing near the beach. Like their cousins the Carolina and house wrens they are not hard  to photograph. 

I  walked  along the shore for about a 1/2 mile when I decided to head back to the pier. 

On my return walk I observed some of the plants growing in the wet and sandy soil like the rattlebox or poisonbean  plants. Their yellow flowers, 

and beans were growing all along the shore.

As I neared the  Lake Mars pier I found another trail that led into some  larger trees and woodlands.  I loved walking under the live oak trees, 

and finally found some of their acorns  growing on some lower branches.

Also standing out on my short hike into the woodlands were the bright red berries of the yaupon holly plants.  I never knew holly grew near the ocean and in such sandy soil. 

I walked back out to the pier where I saw the sun nearing the horizon,

and decided to watch it set back on the beach. 

It was so quiet and peaceful out there on the beach . There wasn’t a soul around as I watched it slowly near, 

and then disappear below the horizon. 

Every sunset and sunrise has it’s unique beauty, like snowflakes no two are alike.

After watching the sunset, I drove my KIA, which I was becoming quite found of, to Huck’s Cove on the Bayou in Gautier. Once again I enjoyed some great country cooking and enjoyed this  huge and delicious blackened grouper po boy sandwich. I was stuffed. It was a great way to end another great day in Mississippi. Here is a link to a gallery with some more photographs from my visit to Lake Mars Pier. Mississippi Day Four sunset walk December 4 2021. 

 Sunset is so marvelous that even the sun itself watches it every day in the reflections of the infinite oceans!” Mehmet Murat Ildan

fskokoski@gmail.com

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