Touring the Keys

One of the things on our life lists was to tour the Florida Keys.  We accomplished this from Sunday, Oct 28 through Thursday, Nov 1.  Our trip began with a beautiful ride to Naples on Sunday.  We stopped for the night, then after a quick breakfast took St. Rt. 41, the Tamiami Trail Scenic Highway, popularly known as Alligator Alley.  We stopped at the Oasis Visitors' Center at Big Cypress National Preserve, also known as Big Cypress Swamp.  This is over 2400 square miles of subtropical Florida--sandy islands of slash pine, mixed hardwood hamocks (tree islands), prairies, cypress domes and stands, marshes and estuarine mangrove forests.  Big Cypress can be explored by off-road vehicle, hiking, canoeing/kayaking, bicycling, car and camping.  We opted for a information cruise around the center and a walk along the short viewing platform.  This is what we saw.

 

Butting up against Big Cypress is Everglades National Park.  We stopped at the Shark Valley Visitor Center.  We just missed the tram tour and didn't want to take two hours for a (rental) bike tour so we walked along the path until we fount this gator.

 

 

 

Close enough for us, we took the little boardwalk off to the left.  We thought this spider was rather unique.  Her head is down and her feet on the other side.

 

Though only 1/4 mile long this walk took us through several different habitats.

On the road again

we came upon this construction.  If we get back that way, we may be riding here.

There are hundreds of keys or little islands, but when people talk about "The Keys" they mean the ones connected by St Rt 1.  These islands are alike in that they all are home to some kind of human settlement and a lot of natural flora and fauna.  Some keys are big enough for a couple of towns, with attendant housing and businesses.  Others are wide enough for the highway and some are only a part of a mile long.  Some are known for certain activities.  The first key north is Key Largo.  As you can see this is where people come to snorkle or scuba dive.  The coral reef runs along all the keys, but this is the best place to explore it.

 

 

At the visitors' center there were people to help you find lodging, parks, places to eat and play all through the keys.  We got a fairly cheap room here.  It was small but very nice. 

 

Our room is behind the office close to the water.

View from the back deck

Our room is between the two buildings on the left.  The boat is used for diving excursions.

The wind was very fierce, thanks to Hurricane Sandy.  We got checked in then took a little bike tour of the island.

One of the Gulf side houses  The Keys run between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

Average size boat

Pink house for all my pink-lovers.  I point out that there are a lot of pink buildings, but actually the most common color is white, followed closely by shades of yellow.  Pink/coral, sea green, sky blue follow those.

Duane going into our room.

Cosy but very welcoming.

Duane storing gear in the closet.

This was not a joke!

Pink mall  After our ride we went "home" to rest before dinner.  Because of the wind we decided to walk down the street for dinner, then 'home' again for the evening.

The next morning we ate a good breakfast here.  (I don't know where all the people are in the cars.  The restaurant was practically empty.)

Key Largo is a good representation of the general look of the keys:  some kind of settlement or town, then long stretches of trees.  Sometimes the ocean and Gulf are just the other side, sometimes there are swampy areas or houses, or even roads to other keys.

Don't worry, Hinkley, Ohio.  We found your buzzards.  They're snowbirding in the keys.

Each of these keys is separated by a channel bridge.

Most of the highway is built along the original Flagler Railroad.  Parts of it are new while the unused railway runs alongside.  People use them for hiking, biking and fishing.

This is a long bridge called the 7-Mile Bridge.  That curve to the left of the bus is more of the bridge.  The wind was still so fierce that one gust almost unseated me!  

Pelicans

Ohio Key

Sorry Ohio, that's all there was!

Flagler bridge on the other side now

Big Pine Key is a Key deer sanctuary.  Most of it is brush and trees behind high fence, but where people settled, the deer also roam.  I thought the deer crossing sign in the middle of traffic very interesting.

The "haves" always build big houses along the coasts.  The "have-nots" get to build inland.

Pink house used as a hotel

Favored colors with purple instead of green

Our ride through the rest of the keys was much the same.  There are several interesting sites along the way such as the porpoise research center, several state parks where you can camp right on the beach, boat tours, and other interesting stuff.  We opted to ride straight through.  Two hours after we left Key Largo, we came to the last  but most famous island, Key West, but that's a story for another day.

Tomorrow, Paradise

Louise and Duane