Based in Southern California, Eloah Rocha is a counselor at Los Angeles Children’s Hospital and works at a youth activity center for patients’ siblings. An outdoors enthusiast who enjoys trips to Florida, Eloah Rocha has explored natural areas across the state.

1. Exploring Big
Talbot Island
State Park in
Northern
Florida
Eloah Rocha

2. Introduction
 Based in Southern California, Eloah Rocha is a counselor at Los Angeles Children’s
Hospital and works at a youth activity center for patients’ siblings. An outdoors
enthusiast who enjoys trips to Florida, Eloah Rocha has explored natural areas
across the state.
One of northern Florida’s highlights is Big Talbot Island State Park, which is situated
on the Atlantic coastal plain 20 miles to the east of Jacksonville. A hideout of the
pirate Blackbeard, who reportedly left treasure buried on the island, Big Talbot
features a tidal marsh interior that allows paddling through dense needlegrass. The
painted bunting, known as Florida’s most colorful avian species, nests in the area
each spring.
There are several popular trails on the Atlantic side, including the Big Talbot Bluffs
Beach Walk, which gives a view of what appear to be black lava rocks but are
actually compressed sand and decayed leaf formations. Another highlight is
boneyard beach, which is littered with the skeletons of cedar and oak trees that
once inhabited the coastline.
Among the wildlife encountered on the island are marsh rabbits, white-tailed deer,
armadillos, raccoon, and the occasional bobcat.