Cruising on Last Dance
"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." St. Augustine, 354 - 430
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain, 1835 - 1910
"There is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing around in boats." The Wind in the Willows, 1908, Kenneth Grahame, 1859 - 1932
"I've never believed speed and ease are conductive to living fully, becoming aware, or deepening memory, a tripod of urges to stabilize and lend meaning to life." River Horse: a log book of a boat across America, 1999, William Least Heat-Moon,1939 -
The Great Loop -- The current adventure is a circumnavigation of the Eastern United States, cruising north up the east coast through New York into Canada, across the Great Lakes to Chicago, navigating multiple river systems south to Mobile, along the Gulf coast to the Florida Keys and back to St. Augustine. This trip by boat is commonly referred to as the Great Loop. Progress and current location are indicated by the red line on the map to the right. It was titled the Traceless Path in recognition of a German sailor we met in St. Augustine who published booklets of his travels with hand-drawn, detailed maps describing his travels across the water as the Traceless Path.
The Great Loop -- The current adventure is a circumnavigation of the Eastern United States, cruising north up the east coast through New York into Canada, across the Great Lakes to Chicago, navigating multiple river systems south to Mobile, along the Gulf coast to the Florida Keys and back to St. Augustine. This trip by boat is commonly referred to as the Great Loop. Progress and current location are indicated by the red line on the map to the right. It was titled the Traceless Path in recognition of a German sailor we met in St. Augustine who published booklets of his travels with hand-drawn, detailed maps describing his travels across the water as the Traceless Path.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Bahia Honda State Park
Bahia Honda Key is a couple islands west of the end of the 7 Mile Bridge. The entire island is now a Florida State Park. The west end of the island has a cove, between the new auto bridge and the old Flagler train bridge, which was converted to automobile use. This cove makes a nice anchorage with more protection than many in the Keys. It was home to Last Dance for the exploration of another Florida State Park island. The above image was made from atop the old bridge looking northeast.
One of the interesting aspects of the park is the ability to see one of the old Flagler era railroad bridges that was converted for automobile traffic after the 1935 hurricane. The 100-year-old bridge still stands with a short section used for walking and viewing. This bridge is unique on the Flagler Keys railroad in the use of trestle construction. The trestle structure held the rails on the bottom bed with the overhead structure providing support. The width of the trestle was too narrow for a two-lane road, so the roadway was built on top of the trestle. The 1912 trestle remains sturdy, but the late 1930 roadway built atop is crumbling from the expansion of the rusting rebar inside the concrete.
The South Florida sun provided another spectacular view, this time concentric rings at mid day.
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=benNptPSDng&t=857s
Come on...Take a ride!!
This video is a cool and unique view of the Florida Keys, Bahia Honda State Park and the awe inspiring, astounding power of Mother Nature! Traversing the Park on bike it shows a side by side, before and after comparison of most areas of the park accessible by a typical visitor. In the span of just a few hours, the landscape of the park was changed, probably forever. The pre-Irma video was taken 6 months before Irma, early March 2017. The post-Irma video was shot 6 months after in early March 2018. Looking at photos of the park shortly after the hurricane it is awesome to see how much has already been accomplished by the Park system as far as the rehab... with much more soon to come. Even after the Irma, Bahia Honda is still one of the most naturally beautiful State Parks in the entire country. The fastest way for recovery is for you to visit....Don't hesitate, a little bit beat up and bruised but it's all still here.
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