Post Cards from the Edge
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I’ve been traveling the Overseas Highway to Key West since 1983 and have always wanted to stop at Bahia Honda (Spanish for deep bay). The bridge fascinates me as it was part of Henry Flagler’s railroad to Key West.
The bridge spans the deepest channel in the Florida Keys and if you have been to the Keys, you know most bridges are atop concrete arches. This channel was too deep and as a result, Flagler’s engineers designed a steel truss bridge. The railroad crossed on the bottom of the trestle.
In 1935, a hurricane wiped out much of the Keys and destroyed several bridges. Railroad service to Key West was not reinstituted. In 1938, the state of Florida built a two lane road atop the trestle which resulted in a white knuckle drive over the bridge.
I made reservations four months ago to camp three nights. I chose the Sandspur campground on the Atlantic side. The state park has three separate campgrounds and a set of six cabins. I chose campsite 50, as far away from the bathroom/shower facilities as possible.
It was very hot. Usually, May and early June are not opressive but this trip, it seemed more like August, temperature-wise. Fortunately, my campsite had a wonder canopy of gumbo limbo trees to provide shade and cooler temperatures. The last day, we had a squall blow in from the Atlantic.
The first full day, I hiked the nature trail and rode my bike over the five miles of paved road bed in the park. I then got to the crux of the matter and hiked to the top of the old Bahia Honda bridge. It provides an excellent view of Florida Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
The next day, I drove the 36 miles to Key West, one of my favorite towns. One of my favorite places in Key West is the cemetery. I’m weird in that I like to read old tombstones.
Lunch was at Sarabeth’s on Simonton (and New York City) and more cycling around the town. I ended up at Pepe’s for my obligatory raw oysters - the best in Florida. Pepe’s is the longest, continuously operating restaurant in Key West.
On my exit from Key West, I stopped in at the Key West Botanical Garden. As long as I have been going to Key West, I’ve never stopped. I’m glad I did this time. Don’t expect meticulously groomed gardens. This garden is what the Florida Keys used to look like before development. You’ll see species endemic to the Keys and the Caribbean. The garden is really very well done.
On the way back to the park, I stopped in at two nature trails on Big Pine Key (Blue Hole and Frederick Mannillo) and then headed across the channel to No Name Key. A good friend, Daryl Miller, had a weekend off-the-grid home there and I had been a guest a couple of times. I didn’t go to the house, but wanted to drive the road in case of seeing a Keys deer. I was in luck. As I turned around and headed back to the park, one crossed the road in front of me.
Most of the plants were well marked along the nature trail and I have very little to do in identification. However, I did use a couple of books to help with ones not identified by the park and to confirm those marked.
Hammer R.L. 2004; Florida Keys Wildflowers. Falcon: Guilford, CN, 231 pp.
Hammer R.L. 2002. Everglades Wildflowers. Falcon: Guilford, CN, 243 pp.
Wunderlin R.P., Hansen B.F. 2011. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 783 pp.
Correll D.S., Correl H.B. 1982. Flora of the Bahama Archipelago. A.R. Gantner Verlag KG, Germany, 1692 pp.
My Life in Plants - a travelog of plants species with photos and descriptions.
Travels with Fred - a blog of my travels thus far.