Advice on Long Key, Florida

During the planning stages of my 100 mile bike ride from Key Largo to Key West, I got a lot of mixed reviews and unsolicited advice. I am open to all forms of advice. I take warnings seriously, but usually they don't keep me from pursuing my goals. I take recommendations to heart. And I appreciate all forms of encouragement or inspiration.

Here are some things that people said to me about the trip:

1. "Be careful" - Sail Inn patrons, Delray Beach, FL
2. "How do your parents feel about this?" -mother of four on the snorkeling trip
3. "I'm so excited for you! I am living vicariously through you!" -my awesomely supportive Mom
4. "You're crazy" -lots of people
   
5. "It's too dangerous" -lots of Floridians
   
6. "Where did you COME from?" -Fernando, another camper at Long Key State Park. He exclaimed this while I was setting up my tent. It came out sounding like he was asking me which planet I was from, but he was just asking how I got there without a car.
   
7. "Awesome! I've always wanted to do that! Are you writing a blog?" - Fernando, same conversation, after I explained that I hadn't arrived via spaceship. I hope you're reading this Fernando! Thanks for being a great neighbor!
   

And the best quote of the entire trip:

"You watch your butt!" -a word of advice from camping neighbor John at Long Key State Park after I said to him "be careful, take care of yourself" as he drove away in his truck without a driver's side door. It took me a minute to realize that he probably meant to say "watch your back." I think I like his version better.

So if you're out there adventuring too, please watch your butt!

Long Key State Park, Florida

After an amazing afternoon of snorkeling in Lower Matecumbe Key, I was ready to peddle quickly to Long Key State Park to get to the ranger station before the park closed.

I consistently had at least 5 feet of shoulder at all points on the road through the Keys, sometimes even 10 feet. And to top it all off, there was virtually no debris along this shoulder. Within 100 miles, I went around 1 piece of tire. That's it!! I assume they do road shoulder cleaning, because this was amazing! Many thanks to the road workers who made this possible!Ten miles later, I had made it to the park, checked in, and started setting up my tent on campsite #6. All campsites within this park are located directly on the ocean! Amazing! As I struggled to set up my tent in the great wind that was coming off the ocean (chasing after it at least once as it rolled across the camping street), I assessed my neighbors.

This campsite was also quite public, which I appreciate as a solo traveler, but less so than the one at John Pennekamp State Park. My neighbors were both tent campers, which I really appreciate since they are much quieter than RVs. As I struggled to stake in the tent, neighbor John came to introduce himself and offer me his hammer, which I gladly borrowed.
He was a sweet older man from Lantana (near where I lived in Delray Beach), whose tent had collapsed in the night, leaving him with his truck to sleep in. He confessed to me that his truck door had fallen off in the evening as well! Yikes! Despite his hard times, he seemed pretty content with his situation. Granted, we're at the beach, with the wind dispelling the bugs and the heat, the sun is setting in gorgeous pinks and blues, and we're on island time...what's not to like? I offered him part of my last juicy mango to thank him for his generosity.
As the colors of the sunset graced the sky, I sat at the picnic table listening to the small ocean waves lapping on the beach just 30 feet from my campsite and the coconut palm fronds tinkling in the wind like rain.
Highway US-1 is located parallel to the beach on Long Key State Park, so there were also the sounds of a few cars passing. Luckily, traffic on the islands basically ceases around 10pm, so I was left with the sounds of nature to lull me to sleep.

After a lovely evening in the tent, I woke to my alarm at 6am. I watched the sunrise from my tent and promptly went back to sleep for a little more shut-eye. Around 9am, I quickly woke up and extracted myself from the tent that had now become a sauna. I packed up and hit the trails in the park to explore. I found a great trail called the Golden Orb Trail which twisted through the mangroves.


Along the beginning of the trail, I explored the wooden plank bridges, the outlook tower, and the pavilion-like cabins the park has for more secluded camping (I didn't know these even existed, but look how great they are!).
One of the cabins had a camper who looked like he'd made it his home for quite a while...beautiful!
I decided to head on down the keys soon after my short exploration to make the most of the sunny, clear day. As I was heading out I saw this sea turtle that had washed up to shore and died. I'm not sure why it hadn't made it, but based on the orange spray paint X on it's back, I assumed that it had been reported and recorded by local naturalists.
I tried to grab a water from the vending machine to fill up my hydration pack. I had to ask some other campers for change for a $5 bill, and I was again surprised by the friendly folks when they gave me an ice cold water from their cooler. Thanks!

Here's a fun shot I got on my ride into Long Key State Park. Yeah, I couldn't help myself at this mile marker! Also, check out my crate. The wet towels dried using this method and so did my shoes, but it make me look like a hobo. Let's just say, that the hobo look combined with lots of sweatiness made me less conspicuous as a blonde riding alone through the Keys!
Now, on to Bahia Honda State Park for the next adventure-filled day!!

Funny sight at John Pennekamp State Park, Florida

Before leaving John Pennekamp State Park, I captured this picture.

Yes, I am a 16 year old boy trapped in the body of a 27 year old woman. What can I say? I find these things humorous.

Islamorada and Lower Matecumbe Key, Florida

After a particularly rainy and somewhat sleepless night at John Pennekamp State Park, I reassessed my gear at 6am. I was high and dry in my tent (thanks Anni for letting me borrow your awesome tent!), but of course the things I had left outside to dry were soaking wet. These included my shoes, socks, bathing suit, shorts, and both of my small towels (one was meant for freshwater showers, the other for drying off after dips in the ocean). Bummer! And the rain continued as I packed up the tent, folded it on the dripping picnic table, and strapped it to my soaking bike. Once I had loaded up my bike crate with my well-sealed backpack, I hung the wet clothes and towels from the back of the crate to blow in the wind and hopefully dry before the next evening. Well, at least I was warm. At this point, I agreed to accept the wetness, and hopped on my loaded bike to head out. Considering it was only 7am, the park rangers weren't even at the entrance yet to check me out, so I snuck out the main gate and began my 100+ mile ride southeast to Key West!

I was quite surprised to find that there are an extensive network of bike paths throughout the Florida Keys. I even came to find out that this network has been linked and is now called the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail. When the trail is great, it's amazing; it is beautifully paved, straight, surrounded by landscaped or natural habitat, runs over fishing bridges separate from the main traffic, and is well marked. When the trail is bad, it's terrible; it can be nonexistent, bumpy to the point that it rattles all the bolts on your bike loose, switches sides of the highway without proper crossings, and sometimes just plain ends with very little warning. The portion that runs through Key Largo is the latter, especially after a rain. I found that the surface water runoff from US-1 in Key Largo ponds on the bike route. After my initial chagrin, I decided "what the heck!" My shoes were already soaking wet, my morning was cool but humid, and I have fenders on my Trek Allant bike to save me from the dreaded back-stripe. So before you know it, I was riding through the puddles, which sometimes came up to the middle of my bicycle gears, sticking my legs out to the sides, giggling with delight, and smiling from ear to ear. It was 7am, I looked like a fool, but I was having a ball doing it! Mind you, I was soaking wet, covered in a film of white mud from the puddles, and still looked very much homeless with wet clothes and shoes hanging from my pack. The heavy morning traffic (yes, lots of big trucks at this time) must have been chuckling at the hilarious site.

The majority of the day was overcast and humid. I was thankful for the cloud cover, as it saved me from the glaring sun and the intense heat I had expected. I rode about 16 miles in the morning before taking a break. My first stop of the day was at the Lorelei Cabana Bar which had been recommended to me by a few friends. and checking on my afternoon plans. While the local fisherman drank coffee, I decided to order my first beer in the islands. Yes, it was 10:30am, but I was already on island time!
The big attraction to the Lorelei Cabana Bar is docked behind the bar:

It's a floating limousine called the Nautilimo! The same owner also owns the pirate ship next to it.
View from the back tiki bar at Lorelei Cabana Bar

Later on down the road, I found a local artists' village, called the Rain Barrel, with lots of local goodies. Fortunately for my wallet, I was saved from buying lots of great art by my limited carrying abilities.

This massive Florida Spiny Lobster sculpture in front of the village makes the artist shops hard to miss.

After a little bit of shopping, I was back on my bike, riding through puddles.

I had found that a few of the National champion trees were located on Lignumvitae Key, a botanical state park located on a key just off of the main keys that is accessible only by boat. After having called ahead a week before, I was particularly excited to see the trees on such a secluded and protected island. The park staff had informed me that most of the rangers knew the locations of the champion trees and they could probably show them to me during a tour, which took place at 10am or 2pm. I was aiming for the 2pm tour and planned to catch a ferry from Robbie's Marina around noon. Within about 7 miles of Robbie's Marina, I decided to give them a call to verify the launch time. Much to my surprise, they informed me that Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park is not open on Tuesdays or Wednesdays (this was Wednesday June 30)...DOH! Dang! Now what? I kicked the dirt with my feet for a few minutes, contemplating my bad luck and poor planning. I couldn't believe that I had not only missed the Soldierwood in Key Largo, but now I was going to miss these national champions that are on Lignumvitae Key:

1. Wild Banyan (Ficus citrifolia)
2. Black Ironwood (Krugiodendron ferreum)
3. Poisonwood (Metopium toxiferum)
4. Darling Plum (Reynosia septentroinalis)
5. Torchwood (Amyris elemifera)
6. Crabwood (Ateramnus lucidus)

I can only hope that someday in the future, I will have the privilege to see some of these amazing trees on Lignumvitae Key. Preserving the high biodiversity on this 280-acre island is extremely important and I am happy that the state of Florida conserves this precious land.

After a quick pity-party and my first taste of succulent mango from John Pennekamp State Park on a channel overlooking the bluest water I've ever seen, I realized that I had nothing to regret on this adventure!
I was doing this bike trip as an adventure, an exploration, a purely relaxing journey through paradise. And what are adventures all about? Being flexible, going with the flow, finding spontaneity in crushed plans. So that's what I did. I still had about 15 miles to go before I needed to be at Long Key State Park to register at my campground there. So I started peddling, slowly south again. I say slowly, because I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere, instead, I was looking for my next adventure.

I found myself at Bud 'N Mary's Marina on Islamorada, just before the Tea Table Key Channel. The people at Bud 'N Mary's are extremely sweet and helpful folks.

They patiently told me about their snorkeling trips for the day, which would have lasted until about 4:30pm. I was hesitant to go on a trip that was so long, considering I still had about 13 miles to ride to get to my campsite for the night and I wanted to make it before the rangers left and certainly before dark. As I contemplated this idea, I walked outside and to the roof of their covered docks to watch the 5 foot long tarpon roll beneath the pilings. If you've never seen these muscular fish lurking beneath you, let me tell you, it's a sight to be seen. They are so large, yet so graceful that they become mesmerizing. I could watch their massive scales shine and dance in the sunlight for hours. I was still undecided, so I continued on my way.

My next stop was Robbie's Marina on Lower Matecumbe Key, the hub of the ferry that I had planned to take to Lignumvitae Key.
After inquiring again about the snorkeling for the day, I finally decided that I would do it. Sure, the trip got back late, but I knew I could make it to the camp in time, and I really wanted to do something exciting that day. While I waiting for my 3pm snorkeling trip, I had a few beers with the friendly and well informed bartender, Jeff, who also recommended the fish tacos for my lunch. I can still taste the yumminess of those fish tacos! The fresh Mahi Mahi they used on them was so juicy that it was dripping from my chin as I devoured my meal. This marina (like many in the rest of the keys), feeds tarpon from it's docks and attracts a large amount of these huge fish.

Look how huge these fish look next to this guy!

And this guy, much to his girlfriend's dismay, used their tiny dog as bait to lure in the fish.

The snorkeling trip was amazing!! I saw every color combination, shape, and pattern of fish imaginable, in schools and individually, at about 10 to 30 feet deep, very clear water. The trip was on a large catameran with about 30 people from the Marina. We dove on Alligator Reef, just south of Islamorada. The coral there was beautiful (brain coral, fan coral, and more) but lacked in abundance and appears to be heavily damaged in areas. I also saw a stingray and a 3 foot nurse shark (I chased her and she hid beneath the rocks). The weather remained perfect for my liking; slightly overcast, a nice breeze with 2 foot rolling seas, and perfectly clear water with about 30-40 feet of visibility.




Here is an abbreviated version of the wildlife I saw while snorkeling:

• yellow goatfish
• sergeant major
• stingray
• giant brain coral
• sea whip coral
• sea fan
• christmas tree worm
• orange wall sponge
• queen conch
• queen angelfish
• blue angelfish
• french angelfish (my favorite!)
• blueheaded wrasse
• blue parrotfish
• rainbow parrotfish
• fairy basslet
• rock beauty
• great barracuda
• spotlight parrotfish
• scrawled cowfish
• trunkfish
• spotted trunkfish
• spotted goatfish
• spotfin butterflyfish
• nurse shark
  

Lime Grove, Key Largo, Florida

Trail to lime grove. Secret back entrance.

Florida Big Tree Coordinator, Mark Torok, had been kind enough to hook me up with the list of the largest trees in Monroe County, FL at my request. This list included one tree in John Pennekamp State Park, the National Co-Champion Soldierwood, a state endangered species. It boasted a crown spread of 19 feet, a height of 45 feet, and a circumference of 28 inches at breast height. According to the record, this tree was located in the state park, 100 feet east, and 30 feet south of the southwest corner of the lime grove. Fair enough...how hard can it possibly be to locate this champion?

View of the lime grove.

Well, I underestimated the complexity of the thick hardwood hammock habitat and overestimated my tree scavenger abilities. I was directed to the lime grove by the friendly staff of the state park and rode my bike to the area, which was relatively close to the front entrance of the park, yet hidden from, and probably unknown by most of the park visitors. I was excited to discover that this “lime grove” was in fact a functioning grove, maintained by the park, including key limes, mangoes, avocados, guavas, and one papaya tree.

Papaya tree

Geologically, the Florida Keys are composed of a string of exposed, slightly elevated, fossilized coral rock, a sharp, jagged formation known as Key Largo Limestone. Consequently, Key Largo pioneers actually had to use quarter sticks of dynamite to clear patches of ground; blasting holes in the thick, solid coral rock. This grove is a humble, yet very productive 2.5-acre fruit oasis and cultural resource. It holds the title as the last working Key lime grove in the Upper Florida Keys. And I had found it!! How cool!

I was so excited about the huge number of mango varieties (if I recall correctly, the signs said there were about 12 varieties in this small area), the beauty of the trees, the unique patterns in the exposed coral rock, and the mystery of this find, that I almost forgot about the Soldierwood tree. I tried my first straight-from-the-tree key lime. I found out later that ripe key limes are almost yellow. Unfortunately, the one I chose was a hard, green lime that puckered my lips, punched me in the back of the throat, but still quenched my curiosity.
As I walked through the grove to the southwest corner, I eyed some beautiful, ripe, distractingly tasty looking mangoes lying on the ground, ready to be harvested.

Unripe mangoes hang from long stems like Christmas ornaments on the trees.

I even photographed this one...the one that was to be my first tree ripe mango from the United States (I’ve harvested them in Costa Rica before too).
As I pulled myself away from the juicy mangoes calling my name, I found the southwest corner of the grove, grabbed my trusty compass and tried to count my steps to the approximate location of the co-champion tree. I was slowly picking my way through the dense underbrush, attempting to run straight lines, when I heard footsteps in the dried leaves about 100 feet from me. I froze, took inventory of my few weapons and potential escape routes from the hardwood hammock, and followed the sound of the leaves with my eyes, only to find that the resident forest ranger was taking his daily stroll to the lime grove with a large bag and a long fruit picking stick. To my dismay, I stood frozen in the forest while I watched him walk through the orchard and pick each and every beautiful, succulent ripe mango from the ground.

One of the many gorgeous mangoes. Look at those colors!! Like a sunset.

I continued looking for the Soldierwood, but my navigation took me to the center of the 10 foot wide path the ranger had just been walking on. Looking around me, I didn’t see any leaves that looked like those I had hoped to identify as a Soldierwood and I couldn’t be sure that the co-champion hadn’t been cut down for the creation of this path. I was discouraged by my failed search and by the loss of my dinner fruit. I headed back out to the lime grove, trying not to emerge too suspiciously from the forest (although legal, I’m sure it’s not normal for most park visitors to go exploring in the dense, off-trail areas of the hammock). Once in the grove again, I approached the ranger, whose bag of mangoes was bulging with golden, ruby red deliciousness. He confessed that he had no information on the tree I was searching for and in fact, didn’t even know it had existed in this area. Short of calling the entire evening a failure, I waited until the ranger had left before I was able to find the last three precious ripe mangos. I later traded one of these beauties with Gloria and Bud for dinner.

Following the lime grove adventure, I headed back to camp along a walking trail through the hardwood hammock. The walk was lined with coral rock obviously placed as a trail border by the rangers.

Yes, it's blurry, but you get the point.

Each coral rock was uniquely imprinted with a different coral pattern.

The coral rock is so shallow that trees in the forest have very shallow roots, like this one.


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Key Largo, Florida

I am officially back from the Florida Keys bike ride and I'm actually already in Maryland, but I will recount the amazing trip for you.

On June 29, I drove my car down to Key Largo, loaded up with my bike and all the gear I needed for the next few days of riding and camping through the Florida Keys to Key West. As I drove south, I stopped for a few provisions at Bass Pro Shop and Target. I needed peanut butter, bread (I already had the blackberry jelly), mace (as demanded by a good friend, thanks Tony!), a new camelback hydration reservoir, water, and some new bike lights (Murphy's Law - mine stopped working the day before).


Once in Key Largo, I parked my car at a generous friend-of-a-friend's house (Thanks Linda!!), neatly packed all my gear on the bike, and hopped on my bike to peddle only 5 miles north to John Pennekamp State Park. Although my trip was intended to ride south, I had to ride north the first evening to the first campsite. I made it to the state park, registered as a camper (I had reserved my spot ahead of time on ReserveAmerica), and was finally able to relax and let all the stress roll off my shoulders by 5pm on Tuesday night.
I gleefully rode to my campsite, which was a nice shady site sandwiched between two massive RVs. Considering it was my first night and so many people had cautioned me against the dangers of this ride, I didn't mind the lack of privacy. Instead, I found myself in the midst of a bustling camping area where many of the campers had made their RVs into homes on the park for over a month already. This was a community. As the new kid, I was eyed up and down, questioned by some, and soon accepted into the pack. I knew that I had passed the test when my lovely RV neighbors, on both sides, took it upon themselves to feed me.
Later in the evening, after some exploration, I was just about to bust into a rustic dinner of PB&J with fresh mangos (more on this later) when I was lured in by beef stew from the neighbors, Gloria and Bud (a sweet older couple who immediately adopted me as a granddaughter). Hmmm...I pondered...PB&J or beef stew. That was a quick decision and before I knew it, Gloria was serving up a brimming bowl of beef stew, showering me with cracker options, and offering me about 5 different types of drinks. As I quietly, yet quickly scarfed down my beef stew, like a stray dog, I listened to Gloria's amazing life. Within 20 minutes I learned that she and Bud had been married for 45 years, had 4 children, 10 grandchildren, how they had met and started courting, where they lived, all the embarrassing things that Bud had done within the past year, their occupations, and their health conditions. As soon as my spoon hit the bottom of my empty bowl, Gloria looked at me with questioning eyes and eagerly asked "would you like another bowl"? Thanks, but I'm stuffed! Without taking a breath, she launched back into more entertaining grandmotherly stories. I felt right at home. Soon, Bud came back from an evening of snorkeling with the kids and having heard that stories were being told of him, he quickly told me his side of each embarrassing story to his defense. I smiled, belly full, feeling like part of the family, and soon excused myself to get some sleep. What a lovely couple!

The John Pennekamp State Park campsite was wonderful. During my explorations, I discovered there are docks here with fishing, snorkeling and diving boat charters available, a concession stand that is open during the day, trails, several snorkeling beaches with a ship wreck, a lime grove, nice bath houses, and even laundry facilities. Prior to the beef stew binge, I explored the property to find the largest Soldierwood tree, which was allegedly on the property. I not only found the lime grove (more on this soon), but I also decided to take a plunge in the crystal clear water on the snorkeling beach.
After a long day of driving, sweating, and stressing about life in general, I found myself floating in the warm water just above the old ship wreck. I heard some snorkelers yell to each other about all the great tarpon, snook, and other fish they saw in the water below me, but I was already floating on my back, exhaling deeply, and enjoying the calm. After a few moments to contemplating the craziness of the past few days, I was able to relax and start taking notice of my surroundings. While I was floating in the super salty water, I realized that I was hearing the muffled clicks and pops of hundreds of organisms below me eating their dinners. I imagined crabs, fish, urchins, lobster (yes, there are Florida spiny lobsters), and clams all feasting in the deep waters. I was pleased they were fed well, but it got me to thinking that I should also probably get some chow.