8 February 2025
With Cathy and Franklin here for the day, we decided to visit Pigeon Key. Clark and Ev had been there before by bicycle. This time we decided to be adventurous and took the trolley to the island. We made reservations ahead of time, but as shown in the picture below, we did not have to worry about space on the trolley! We had the four of us plus one other couple for the ride out. since it was the first trip of the day, our tour guide sat up in the "engine" car with the driver to get out to the island to do her job.
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| Pigeon Key Trolley on Route 1 in Marathon, FL |
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| Franklin and Cathy on the trolley |
Having arrived at Pigeon Key, we sat outdoors while our tour guide, Allyson, gave us the low-down on this historic site. The first thing she did was introduce us to Edgar - a tall white heron who hangs around waiting for shark feeding time where Allyson slips him a few scraps on the side.
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| "Edgar" - tall white heron |
Edgar was impatient as he waited for his lunch. Allyson told him several times that he had to wait until feeding time at 12:45, but Edgar wanted none of that. He kept giving her "the look"!
Allyson also pointed out that a pair of ospreys have a nest on the island.
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| One osprey in nest, other nearby |
After the island overview session, Allyson took us into one of the buildings for a look around.
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| Tour Guide Allyson |
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| Well-decorated All-purpose Building (important: restrooms are here!) |
Having visited twice before, Ev walked quickly through the island's museum and grabbed a couple of pictures along the way.
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| Old Surveying Equipment |
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| Old Tools |
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| Railroad Trestle Tie |
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| Signal Light |
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| Postcards of the area |
Shortly thereafter, Franklin joined her at the rocking chairs on the porch. What a lovely breeze we had on what felt like a beautiful "summer" day!
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| Franklin and Ev enjoying the lovely breeze on Pigeon Key |
When everyone had seen the museum, we walked down to the docks to look at fish and boats.
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| Clark checking out the boat |
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| Our next boat?? |
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| Franklin checking out the boat |
Children frequently visit Pigeon Key on class trips and such. The island has a number of areas setup up for educational purposes like the area shown in the picture below.
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| Learning facility down by the docks |
We walked down the pier to the docks to see what we could find. One boat was there and another was trying to tie up as we arrived. Without a boat pole, they struggled to get a line onto the available poles. We did not stay to see if they ever succeeded in lassoing them. It was somewhat painful to watch.
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| People snorkeling near 7-Mile Bridge |
The water by the docks was crystal clear, and we could see many small needlefish swimming nearby.
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| Needlefish by Pigeon Key dock |
On the ocean side of Pigeon Key we found the contained area where a variety of fish and two sharks reside. The area has walkways on either side of the enclosure. Ev took the picture below of Clark on the far side reading about the fish. He took the shortcut across the cement wall at the far end to get there. Ev took the safer route with a true walkway!
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| Clark checking out the shark tank on Pigeon Key |
Signs surrounding the area containing the two sharks describe the varieties of fish found here. Some of those signs are shown below.
We took the 10:00 trolley. The driver said she would come back at 11:45 to collect us for the return trip leaving at 12:00. Having seen all we wanted to see, Cathy and Ev checked out the gift shop while we waited for the trolley to arrive. The most popular items sold at the gift shop appeared to be the popsicles.
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| Gift shop and popsicle stand |
As we waited, we got one more look at the osprey couple,
and Edgar kept his eye on us. He was very interested in us but kept his distance which was appreciated.
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