Florida State Park Mission

We have visited all but one of the Florida State Parks in the Keys during our visit, and the one we didn’t visit was blocked off.  Today we visited the Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park.  This land was inhabited in the mid-1800’s by the Russell family and they lived on the land until they sold it to the FL East Coast Railway in 1908 for $852.80.   Formed of Key Largo limestone (fossilized coral), when the land was sold to the FL East Coast Railroad it was used to build Henry Flagler’s Overseas Railroad in the early 1900’s.  The RR was completed in 1912 and after it was completed, the quarry was used until the 1960s to produce exquisite pieces of decorative stone called key stone.   Keystone is a decorative building stone and can be seen on several buildings throughout the US, including the St. Louis Post Office. There are 1.5 miles of self-guided trails through a tropical hardwood hammock. There are 40 species of trees and plants native to the Florida Keys including Florida thatch palm, white ironwood and the gumbo limbo was everywhere.

**Key points to remember.  Make sure to watch out for spiders.  We had the pleasure of seeing two horned spiders.  One of which was right upon us  before we saw it.  Lizards are everywhere.  Be aware!  Also, even though we were in a spider and lizard infested State Park we still managed to enjoy ourselves!!  It’s what you make of it!