Tom's National Park Adventure

I got up and on the road early. I was headed to Biscayne National Park. The drive wasn’t a long one. I have to wait to see if I will get charged the tolls normally associated with driving on the Florida Turnpike. The governor of Florida had suspended all tolls on toll roads during the evacuation in advance of Hurricane Milton. I don’t know if he had reinstated the tolls yet or not!

You have to pass by the Homestead / Miami race track when you go to Biscayne National Park. They have NASCAR races there. I was relived to see that there wasn’t an event going on when I drove past. Biscayne was established as a National Monument in 1968. In 1980 it was designated as a National Park and enlarged to 173,000 acres. This includes the water, the land and all the natural residents that live within its borders. The land portion of the park consists of a series Keys or small islands. It lies along the southeast edge of the Florida peninsula. Just south of Miami and just north of Key Largo. It is the northernmost point of a 358 mile long reef that is the world’s third largest living saltwater reef. The moderate temperatures combined with the warm clear water and sunshine makes this area teem with wildlife. Fish and Birds come to the area in abundance. The area is a shallow bay that combines all of these elements to make a perfect habitat for small animals known as Coral. Coral are tiny “Reef builders”! They come out at night to feed on plankton. They digest the plankton and extract the calcium from the ocean. They then create the tube-shaped skeletons that they live in. Hundreds and thousands of these tubes then combine and grow along side and on top of each other to form a reef.

The fact that these little animals are the creators of reefs is the key difference between land surrounded by water being called a key or an island.

Over 100,00 years ago the water level of the oceans were 25 to 30 feet higher than they are currently. Then the Ice age came along. The polar Icecaps on the North Pole and the South Pole were created. This cause the level of the seas to drop to where they are currently. This drop in levels caused bits of land to be exposed. The exposed lands that were caused by geological activity were then called Islands. The exposed bits of land that were the tops of coral reefs were referred to as Keys. Keys are created by animals!

Coral reefs are beautiful. There are many different colors of Coral. The fish that live in them are usually brightly colored and patterned.

There are many different ways to enjoy Biscayne NP. You can paddle out into the Mangroves. You can go snorkeling around the reefs in the uncommonly clear blue water. You can go fishing along the shoreline.

After checking out the visitors center and taking short hike along a walkway checking out the views, I hoped back into Ethyl and headed south to Key West.