2004 Year in Review

Florida Keys

If you haven’t read my last column “Travel is an Adventure” you should start there. We just returned from our second travel adventure to Florida and to really appreciate this trip you need to read about last year’s vacation.

At Christmas I asked my husband if he wanted to go to Florida again and he gave me an enthusiastic “yes, back to the Keys!” I was a little surprised after last year’s fiasco but always the adventurer I started my Internet search. We both decided Key West was too commercial and crowded (great if you like the Wisconsin Dells’ Downtown). So I found a quaint little hotel in Long Key, almost in the middle of the Keys.

Well we found four days of paradise! The Vacation Gods must have thought they owed us a good time after last year. We spent four days in the Keys – two were spent lounging on the beach reading and two were spent shopping and exploring the center islands. Our favorite activity is visiting parks so I found a list and started checking them off.

First of all the Keys are divided into six major groupings of islands and cities: Key Largo to the north and Key West to the south and in-between is Islamorada, Long Key, Marathon, and Big Pine and the Lower Keys.

The first stop was to Long Key State Park (Mile Marker 67.5), just a short walk from our hotel. We followed the trails through the mangrove trees to the sandy beaches and sat along the waterfront until we realized the suns strength and our lack of lotion were roasting us like a Thanksgiving turkey. We had hoped to return to canoe the trails inside the park but high winds postponed that adventure for another trip.
Also visit Long Key State Park

Next we visited Sombrero Beach (Mile Marker 50) in Marathon on the Atlantic Ocean. A public beach, it’s one of the deepest in the Keys. We walked up and down the beach a couple times and watched the people, kids, and dogs enjoying their Saturday morning.

After lunch we crossed to the other side of Marathon to the gulf side and wandered through the grounds of the oldest homesteads north of Key West. The land has been preserved much as it would have been before Flagler started his train tracks to Key West (more later). Crane Point (Mile Marker 50.5), originally slated to become commercial property, was purchased by the Florida Keys Land and Sea Trust and instead the land is dedicated to preservation.

Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park (Miler Marker 84.5) in Islamorada was our last stop. It might help to give you a little background on the history of the Keys. Originally Key West was only accessible by water until Henry Flagler in the early 1900’s decided to bring the railroad through the Keys. He needed to quarry material and purchased land on the gulf side of Islamorada to quarry. The railroad was destroyed by a hurricane in the 1935 and rebuilt as Highway 1. There are three quarries and 1-1/2 miles of walking trails through the original tropical hardwood hammock that was prevalent throughout the Keys a hundred years ago. The walls of the quarries are made from fossilized reefs as are most of the islands. The ranger gives an interesting interactive numbered guide with the $1.50 entrance fee.
Also visit Windley Key Fossile Reef Geological State Park

We just scratched the surface of parks in the Keys but we were so impressed with the few we went to that we are stimulated to go back and visit more. From John Pennecamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo to Bahia Honda State Park in the Lower Keys I hope to visit them all someday. I’m sure glad someone is preserving the natural Keys for future generations.

For more photos visit my PHOTO ALBUM

by Barb Benson, theCity1.com
February 11, 2004