Boca Chica Beach

I was out here with my camera in 2008 and a year and a half later things have changed just a little bit. In my April 18th 2008 essay I referred back to my visits here with my elderly Labrador Emma who died in December 2006. She liked to sit in the sand, take a little swim and hang out with me at the picnic table while I read a book. She was old by then but still able to totter around. I have missed her terribly:

Now I am back with my new-to-me Labrador Cheyenne:The road used to be a good bit longer before one of the storms of 2004 or 2005 washed it out. I am pretty sure it was damage caused by Hurricane Wilma, but my memory is getting a bit vague about the details there were so many storms in those two years. I remember Wilma plastered trash on all the military fencing around the Boca Chica airbase to a height of four feet where the flood waters crested.

Beyond the barricade the old road goes on for another quarter of a mile getting narrower as the kudzu pushes in from the sides:Out to sea the gin palaces were busy the afternoon I was walking along the shore. Winter is the season for boat travel through the Keys:
The beaches are covered in washed up seaweed and Cheyenne, unlike Emma, has apparently never been taught to enjoy the water. This will change next summer when I will give lessons:The old state road around the south side of Boca Chica used to cross to Stock Island on trestles and the road was accompanied by electrical wires which are now reduced to individual poles, looking like survivors of a disaster:Birds, possibly pelicans.People come out here to enjoy a little moonlight and campfires and the like.And piled up on shore is a jumble of cement, the old road barricades now rendered obsolete by the destruction of the road further back. This is all a pedestrian area and even bicycles have a hard time up ahead:You Have Been Warned!

All the fuss about a nude beach proposed for the city of Key West is about ways to make money. People have been taking their clothes off around here for ages, and now I guess it's common knowledge. And no one was a charging an entry fee. I wondered if I should remove Cheyenne's collar as a precaution.More gin palaces (which is a derogatory term frequently used by sailors when speaking about excessively ostentatious motorboats) buzzing about:The old road is long gone and the newer footpath that replaced it has apparently washed out as well. It used to be you could ride a bike down here without too much trouble:

Cheyenne was enjoying rooting around like a pig after truffles under the Navy fence:Inland, in the distance one can see the Boca Chica Naval Air Station control tower:And here is evidence of at least one cyclist giving up the struggle in the absence of the old trail:This dude was striding along in espadrilles with his chair firmly on his shoulder. He was watching where he was going; being careful was a necessary precaution thanks to the slippery rocks underfoot:We exchanged remarks about the suitability of dogs rescued from the pound as he paused on his way back to the cars. We too decided it was time to head back. Visitors to the Keys are frequently disappointed by the quality of the beaches around here, and swimming off Boca Chica "Beach"leaves a lot to be desired. Not least because the water is shallow for a long way out, currents keep dead sea grass on the waterline and the shore is filled with nasty rocks:Fighters from the Naval Air Station were out practicing, a common sight above Big Coppitt. They make a fair bit of noise and not everyone who chooses to live near the Navy Base is aware of that. That's a cause of controversy which has produced a nice crop of local bumper stickers. Stuff like "I love Navy noise" or "I support the sound of Freedom" being common sights on cars around here.A strong economy is a sound I like even better but that concept is a bit too complicated for thoughts limited to the length of a bumper sticker. Birds fly around too:I'm pretty sure these are more pelicans. It's their time of year.I met this dog on the path. His name he said was Crumley though I'm not sure of the spelling. He was snatched from the pound in Boston and he is a sprightly four year old.

He was rather more sprightly than Cheyenne wanted to keep up with. I understand Crumley enjoys splitting his time between Boston and the Keys and I expect I will see more of him as time goes by.Dog ownership is another of those sub cultures. Like motorcycling. Or living in the Keys.

800 Eaton Street

It's that time of year again, the happiest time of year! Attractive Conch ("konk") homes are cluttered with bunting for Christmas; other homes are showing off realtor signs:Holly, ivy, mistletoe and pine boughs all seem oddly inappropriate in the land of tropical greenery, but traditions don't die easily, even if they were born in the Nordic north, land of snow and darkness and ice.

Another attractive eyebrow home where the roof line descends over the upper windows to allow them to stay open in rain and unintentionally trap hot air inside the house.Eaton Street is a main thoroughfare into downtown Key West and it carries a great deal of traffic that turns off North Roosevelt onto the causeway over Garrison Bight Marina. That street, called Palm Avenue, runs into Eaton, and this is the 800 block of Eaton Street.Next to the stately mansions and Conch cottages there are a few businesses here. This used to be Chodzin roofing until the owner decided abruptly he'd had enough and quit the business. The building stood empty for a while but now it is a seafood market in the art deco structure:I caught a glimpse of a man riding a bicycle in bright yellow crocs. I wonder if he gets as much grief as I do for my pink ones.Cheyenne liked playing photographer's assistant until she tried to investigate a porch a little more thoroughly than I thought was appropriate. The leash ran out and she wasn't amused.This is the Island City Hotel:The yellow building on the left in this picture:There are always overhanging trees on the streets of Key West, along with over sized vehicles: There are porches and decks:According to J Wills Burke's "The Streets of Key West" Eaton Street is named for one John Eaton, a multi-faceted man who represented Tennessee in the Senate, worked as Secretary of War and wrote a biography of President Andrew Jackson. Eaton apparently became Florida's second territorial governor in 1834 following in the footsteps of William Duval. Eaton was not a distinguished man in the grand scheme of things and Wills Burke is puzzled as to why he got a street named for him, especially as it was named before Eaton served as governor. He speculates it may have to do with indications that Eaton owned property in Key West early in the city's formation.You too could own property in Key West, there is tons for sale, some at lowered prices though I don't see much in the way of a bargain:This is the land of outdoor living, witness the standard lamp on the porch. Just the job to supplement the moonlight for those warm December nights you want to sit outdoors and read:Too bad if you live someplace where it snows, but there again the notion of a Christmas tree looks odd to me in this town. Some people take their sense of humor to the business of decorating. Check out this tree in the flamingo-style of decoration:The best way to get around old town is on two wheels, and the scooter-phobic can always rent a bicycle, including from Eaton Bikes:This building used to be home to Florida Yacht Charters but they have gone. Perhaps because they didn't hire me. I did fine without them, they did not so well without me I guess. And on the subject of vehicles unsuitable for Key West streets, I wonder what one does with a machine like this:I am reminded of the saying that it is more fun to make a slow bike go fast than to make a fast bike go slow. There is a moral in that saying for everyone, but what it might be I couldn't rightly say.

Happy Dawg

Cheyenne has adopted my wife's memory foam yoga pad as her own.She had her usual long walks today involving a lot of rooting around and enjoying her freedom. My back is better though sitting weirdly enough is far more painful than standing. I stood, she walked.
All of which takes it out of a dog. Doctor Edie the Mobile Vet came by yesterday and gave her a clean bill of health, and some medicine to clean up her ears. Today we put her on "her" bed in the bathroom and closed her in while we went downstairs and sat in the sun.

She stayed there without yelping so perhaps being closed in a (relatively) small space keeps her comfortable while we are gone. When I am at home she is quite comfortable thanks taking up the middle of the living room and sprawling.A proper Sunday at home, en famille, with a dog snoring in front of the fire. Except it's too hot for a fire. I don't think she had it this good where she came from.

Tortugas Sketches

Sunrise at the Dry Tortugas National Park. I took these pictures while on my last trip to the island known as Garden Key, home to Fort Jefferson built around the period of the Civil War. The coaling docks which were built on these pilings were added in time for World War One:Nowadays they make for excellent snorkeling. The fort and it's moat on the east side of the island, looking southeast:On the opposite side of Garden Key there is Loggerhead Key (named for the turtles that used to reside there in abundance). The lighthouse, three miles west of Fort Jefferson is the last speck of land before Mexico some 300 miles west. National Park volunteers staff the lighthouse and live on a house there, weeks at a time. The only access is by private boat with a dinghy landing on the beach. The Park Service supplies the volunteers at their private dock on the east side of the island.The fort itself has a bunch of antennae, including satellite access to television and Internet for the National Park personnel stationed there. There is a satellite payphone (by credit card) on the dock for the public, but cell phones don't work on this island 70 miles west of Key West.Next door is Bird Key, separated by this strip of water that was filled in, then emptied in turn by hurricanes. The island is closed to the public as it is a nesting ground for migrating birds.
Fort Jefferson is a speck in a very large ocean. A surprisingly civilized speck all things considered.They say the place is constructed out of 16 million bricks, imported from Up North from two different factories which explains the two different shades of red of the bricks in the outer walls. The top of the wall is a grassy, sandy walkway.The five acre interior of the fort, whose construction plans were never completed, is like a park:

Some reconstructive surgery has been completed to prevent buildings, like the domed powder magazine from crumbling.

Looking southeast from the northwest corner:Looking east from the same spot one can see the rectangles of dark grass that show where the barracks were located and beyond them the domed powder magazine once again.This ancient fort looks more like a crusader fortress in Syria or a European castle than a North American building.Darkness falls suddenly at the fort, as is the way at these tropic latitudes:

Campers and the National Park Rangers are the only people left on the island, after the ferries take the day trippers back to Key West, leaving at 2:45pm and getting back to the city around 5:15pm. For campers it's time to cook dinner:And every day succeeds the previous day in the same way. A view south from the main entrance. The covered building is the dock with an information room and some changing rooms for people who need a place to put on, or take off a swimsuit:
The other covered buildings are the composting toilets, four of them, near the campground:They work very well but are only available to campers after the ferries leave. While ferries are docked campers are supposed to use the toilets on board and only use these when the large number of day visitors have left so as not to overwhelm the island facilities.The fort is open during daylight hours and even when the ferries are docked there is plenty of room for everyone. After the boats leave the fort is a private place, and that's when the interior of the fort is one photo opportunity after another:The moat wall was designed to keep marauding boats at a distance from the fort itself to give gunners time to sink enemies before they could get close, but it also keeps wave action away from the delicate foundations of this fort built on sand. Swimming is not allowed in the moat:This is a US National Park so there are informational signs everywhere. My pink crocs are happily barely visible:Bird Key beyond the eastern coaling dock pilings just visible in the foreground:
The unfinished windows in the case mates:The US Coastguard downgraded the old lighthouse at the fort and now it's known as a harbor light. At night it glows with a steady yellow gleam and all boats at anchor in the National Park are required to anchor within one mile of this light:There are some bushes sprouting on the eastern side of the fort and among them I found this prickly pear.......and this I-know-not-what:And here is a view from the salon of the Yankee Freedom ferry taking us home to Key West:It costs $180 round trip on this boat but every trip to the fort is an adventure and an exploration.