Sarasota to Islamorada Key

This morning I drove down the West Coast of Florida, then cut across on US Hwy 41 S before dropping down to the Keys.

I first stopped at Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge and walked the Marsh Trail. This trail is rich with water fowl. I was only able to spend about an hour at midday. It is definitely a place I would like to visit again, both to spend more time and under more favorable lighting conditions.

I then proceeded to “The Loop” in The Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area . This was a great stop. I had originally planned to drive the entire 20 mile loop, but found so much in the first five miles that I ended up having to turn around to get back to the Highway in order to make it down to the Keys by evening.

After the first few miles, I happened on a couple of guys who were clearly professionals. They had equipment that I had never seen before that could do things I had never heard of, like capture a motion sequence that had occurred 10 seconds prior. Unsurprisingly, they turned out to National Geographic photographers capturing images and video for a documentary. Rather than continue on, I decided to hang with them for an hour. It was well worthwhile. But again, I would definitely like to come back to this area and spend more time.

Interestingly, both the National Wildlife Areas I have visited have turned out to be the richest wildlife experiences. Something to keep in mind moving forward.

I arrived at my friend J’s on in Islamorada, just barely in time to wash up before he and his wife N treated me to a very pleasant dinner. I had not seen J in some years and it was nice to catch up.

I have a day in this area tomorrow before heading down to Key West on Monday.

Additional images can be found in the Gallery.