Visitors’ from NJ!

This is great! Dear friends for NJ arrived for a visit. Sadly, their stay can’t be as long as we had hoped, but we’ll try to pack a weeks worth of activities into three days!

While here, we dined with other friends from NJ, walked the nature trail at Curry Hammock State Park, Walked all the trails at Windly Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park, Walked a lot of Key West,  especially the cemetery, and celebrated Valentine’s Day with a sumptuous dinner at the Keys Fishery.

After their departure on Monday morning, we took a bile ride to Flamingo Island, near the Sombrero Golf Course, and returned to the boat to work on the logs.

Remember the Maine! (Key West Cemetery)

Unusual Headstone (Key West Cemetery)

Sunset (2/13/11) - Sombrero Beach

A Note About Windley Key (from the Windley Key Fossil Reef State Park Brochure)

Windley Key is one of the highest in the chain of Keys formed of "Key Largo Limestone" over 125,000 years ago. Over the centuries, the sea rose and fell. At times the water level was approximately 25 feet higher that at present while at other times the ocean levels dropped by as much as 300 feet, revealing the entire Florida Plateau. About 5,000 years ago, the water level stabilized and the ancient coral reef crest that remained exposed created the islands that are the Florida Keys. Various tribes of Native Americans inhabited the Keys before the first European explorers arrived. Middens and other remains are located throughout the islands documenting their earliest human occupation. 

Ther railroad was completed in 1912 and the quarries and Windley Key Station continued to serve in many ways. Local trains stopped daily to deliver much needed fresh water from the mainland and pick up mail and passengers. On return trips, shipments of polished "keystone" were railed back to the mainland. This keystone, a decorative building stone, can be seen on several buildings throughout the US, including the St. Louis Post Office, an altar in a NYC chapel and many other locations. The clean cuts of the quarry machinery revel perfctly presevered fossilized specimens of a variety of ancient coral animals. The park offers a rare opportunity to compare living corals of today with their fossilized ancestors. The limestone cuts also reveal the thin layer of soil that supports the abundant variety of botanical life that thrives in the subtropical environment of the Keys.

Over 40 kinds of trees can be found along the trails whose fruits, nuts and berries provide sustenance for several endangered animals and dozens of migratory bird species.