The Keys

This great white heron must have been quite familiar with people taking pictures of him. He all but smiled for the cameras as three of us shot away at him outside the Bass Pro Shop in Islamorada.

Marina at Islamorada

Inside the Bass Pro Shop in Islamorada is this sister ship, a replica, to Ernest Hemingway's fishing boat, the Pilar. Hemingway actually went out to sea in this replica boat and liked it enough to have one ordered exactly like it. He purchased it in 1934 for $7500 and named it the Pilar, a nickname for his second wife, Pauline. (Hemingway's boat is currently on display in Cuba). The Bass Pro replica is completely accessible to visitors who want to go aboard.

After dinner this day we strolled down to the waterside behind the Bass Pro Shop for a nice sunset.

This was probably one of our most favorite sunsets...behind the Bass Pro Shop in Islamorada.

Just playing with the light of the tiki torches set up behind the Bass Pro Shop.

The beach in Islamorada.

Anne's Beach in Islamorada is dedicated to a local environmentalist Anne Eaton. It's on the Atlantic.

Sombrero Beach in Marathon. The next several shots were taken at this picturesque spot on the gulf side.

There's some wonderful history behind the bridge that links the middle Florida keys to the lower ones. It starts with Henry Flagler in the early 1900s when he built the first railway across the waters to allow acces to Key West. Tragically, a disastrous 1935 storm destroyed his work, sending huge sections of the bridge out to sea. He sold what he could, and the bridge, with its huge gaps, is today a hike and bike trail. The actual railtracks that were salvaged from the storm have become the guardrails for the 2.2-mile bridge. In 1982 a new bridge was constructed, and it's the one we travel by car today. The Flagler bridge became fondly known by locals as The Old Seven Mile Bridge. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

At the north end of the seven-mile bridge are palm-canopied steps allowing visitors to view the extending bridges from both the gulf and the ocean side.

Curly-tailed lizards are seen throughout southern Florida. They are about seven inches long and don't appear to be much of a threat. They quickly scamper among rocks and under brush. This curly-tailed was hanging out by the bridge.

Looking east to the Atlantic from the north end of the Seven Mile Bridge

On Big Pine Key there is a National Key Deer Refuge that protects the endangered key deer found only in the Florida keys. The key deer stands 2 1/2 feet at the shoulder. One doesn't have to drive far to see them on Big Pine and on No Name Key as they wander in yards and along side the remote roads.

Also on Big Pine Key is the only body of FRESH water on the keys. It is called Blue Hole and is a wonderful spot for viewing several species of wildlife. Below is a black racer snake we saw there as he gulps down a lizard.

Overlooking Manatee Bay on the grounds of the Hampton Inn, Key Largo

Above and Below: Sunset over Manatee Bay, on the grounds of the Hampton Inn, Key Largo

I'm accustomed to palm trees, I have them in my yard at home. But I continued to marvel over the Florida palms...such pretty ones and so many different kinds!