Boating with Sunset Delight: Big Pine Key car trip

Monday 2/19/2018
No boat travel

As I walked up to visit the marina facilities, i.e. head, I passed Sandy from L'Attitude Adjustment who asked if Clark and I would like to join her and Bill for a drive to Big Pine Key today. Since we have never explored that part of the Keys, we readily accepted her lovely invitation.

We took care of miscellaneous tasks on board until the scheduled departure time for our car trip at 11:30. As we drove to Big Pine Key, Clark and Bill got into a somewhat technical discussion, so I mostly sat back and enjoyed the view from the car. Sandy drove.

As we approached Big Pine Key, Sandy offered us two options for lunch -- No Name Pub or the Bucktooth Rooster. She described both options as far as what we might find at each location. Both sounded interesting to me, so I let Clark decide and he picked No Name Pub.

No Name Pub is near, but not on, No Name Key. To say it is "off the beaten track" would be an understatement. As clearly understood by the owners, who proudly display "You Found It" on their signpost and advertising.

No Name Pub ...
"A nice place if you can find it."

The pub seemed to have survived Hurricane Irma quite nicely. Given the interior of this place, they would lose a lot if they got wiped out. The place is thickly coated in one-dollar bills!

Dollar Bills Over the Bar

On the walls

and every square inch of ceiling!

Outside of the restaurant we saw a tribute to Irma with a bit of humor.

Wooden Key Deer wearing a life jacket!

When we finished our lunch (they all had pizza; I had Teriyaki wings), Sandy hurried us along so we could continue our Big Pine Key tour. Since it was just down the road and over a bridge, she took us to see No Name Key. As we approached the area, Bill explained that up until two years ago no electricity was allowed on this island.

Irma hit this part of the Keys the hardest, and we could see lots of work still needs to be done to recover from the damage.

The blue dot is Faro Blanco.
We visited Big Pine Key and No Name Key today.

For our next stop, Sandy drove us to the National Key Deer Refuge in hopes of actually seeing a Key Deer. At the park, we saw some literature that said the Key Deer population in 1957 had dwindled down to less than 50 head. As a result of being listed at that time as an endangered species their number grew to around 1500 before Hurricane Irma hit. Bill told us the population lost around 300 head to the storm.

In addition to Key Deer, the Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit is also found in this area and is also on the endangered species list. We saw neither a deer nor a rabbit on our visit. We did, however, get to see a turtle and an alligator at the Blue Hole Observation Platform.

Turtle swimming by at Blue Hole Observation Point

Alligator taking a nap

Still young and
Not as big as he appears in picture

The water where we spied the turtle and the alligator is fresh water. This area of the Keys is referred to as the "Freshwater Wetlands". Blue Hole was originally a Limestone Quarry with the excavated limestone used to construct most of the roads in the area. When Blue Hole became part of the National Refuge, native vegetation was planted here and the area was allowed to revert back to nature.

We found parts of the refuge closed to foot traffic. Irma again?!

Sign says "Trail Closed"

Local Vegetation
Sandy said she was glad to see green returning to the area.

Besides a tour of the island, Sandy had some shopping to do. We stopped at Beall's (clothing) Outlet, Ace Hardware, and the "Good Food Conspiracy" health food store. Before going into Ace Hardware, Sandy pulled me to one side and took me into a home decor store with lovely items on sale. Good thing I did not see anything that fit with my decor on the boat.

Having spent a full day exploring Big Pine Key, we headed back to Faro Blanco. As we drove along, Clark captured a few pictures out the car window. Only a small portion appeared "blog worthy".

Railroad bridge - no longer in use and very rusted
Caution signs warning small watercraft of danger are posted every few feet.

Bahia Honda Park - closed for now

Wind-ravaged Palm Trees

Newfound Harbor - popular anchorage
Recommended by Bill
Located in Hawk Channel

As we had our Big Pine Key tour, Bill and Clark got deeply into a conversation on matter, antimatter, the Big Bang, and a number of complex concepts. They talked and talked. I could follow somewhat but surely not contribute to the discussion. We arrived back in Marathon just before 4:00.

Having somewhat tuned out, I totally missed the part of the discussion where our next destination found us heading for Sweet Savannah's ice cream parlor before going back to our boats. Bill and Clark did not miss a beat and continued the heavy tech talk throughout our ice cream time. Sandy and I agreed that they were both having such a good time talking technical that it would be a shame to cut them off. We ate our ice cream and listened as they delved deeply into Einstein's Theory of Relativity as it relates to Quantum Mechanics.

Sweet Savannah's in Marathon

Having enjoyed our refreshing treat and returned to the boat around 4:30 or so, I was surprised to see Sandy head up to docktails arounds 5:00 as usual. I decided to pass. About ten minutes later I saw Sandy return to her boat. I guess no one else decided to make an appearance tonight. One never knows if it will be a big night or a bust.

At some point unbeknownst to me, Clark slipped out to capture the sunset picture.