The Keys

We are now spending a few days in the Florida Keys.

Last night we stayed in Boyds Campground in Key West

and tonight we are in a brand new RV Resort in Key Largo.

Driving the Keys is an experience in itself.

Made up of hundreds of Islands stretching from Key Largo the Keys

reach out 125 miles to Key West where the road ends and then another

60 miles to the Tortugas which are accessible only by boat or seaplane.

The route thru the Keys - US 1 follows the route pioneered by Henry Flagler

and the Florida East Coast Railroad in the early 1900's. 

Building of the railroad is one of the great engineering marvels of the 20th Century.

Destroyed by Hurricanes on several occasions during construction, Flagler was

unstoppable and in 1912 - 82 years old and blind - Flaglers' dream was realized.

Upon reaching Key West he said "now I can die happy"

He died one year later.

The railroad continued for over 20 years until the great hurricane of 1935

destroyed miles of track and killed hundreds of veterans who were working on

the railroad as part of the New Deal.

After this the railroad was never rebuilt and instead the right of way was turned over

to the state of Florida to be used as a roadway.

Many of the original bridges were modified (they needed to be widened) to handle

automobile traffic.

The Bahia Honda Bridge (below) is a great example of such a modification.

The rail traffic was carried on the lower deck just above the cement pilings.

The roadway was later added at the top of the bridge trusses so that it could extend over the sides.

The bridge approaches gently sloped up to allow the traffic to climb up onto

the top of the bridge trusses.

7 mile bridge (below) is the longest bridge on the overseas highway.

The old railroad bridge can be seen to the left

Pigeon Key - in the middle of 7 mile bridge is bypassed by the new bridge.

Once known as one of most beautiful rest stops in america,

a ramp from the 7 mile bridge led travelers onto the key.

It originally served as a work camp during rail road construction.

After Transiting back east the length of the Keys

we stopped for two nights at Point of View RV Resort in Key Largo.

The view from our site.

Another view from our site.

The pool area.

The Pool at sunset

Yep…  this place is pretty nice.

A guy could get used to hanging out here but unfortunately

my wallet is not large enough.

We'll stay here tomorrow and then we head back north up the east coast of Florida.