Curry Hammock

Took our first Kayak tour at Curry Hammock

This Little Blue Heron  couldn't have cared less about all the Kayaks

We learned there were 7 species of sea grass in the shallow waters we were paddling over. 

Approaching the North side of the island it got so shallow you had to barely dip your paddle in.

Our guide stopped several times along the way to provide details  along the kayak trail.

We were told of a special Jelly fish that spends it life upside down  and they inhabit this area on the Northwest side of the island

Can you see the Jelly fish?

The trail narrows through the Mangroves

Very cool to paddle right through mangroves, the Admiral would not have done this  if we had been alone. 

Can't go that way

The trail merges into a large cove on the East side of the Island, trip is over at the end of the tree line, the outlet to the Atlantic. 

This Yellow Crowned Night Herring had his choice of perches. 

I was ready to get off the Kayak, my butt was hurtin but the Admiral wanted to  keep going. 

Nice Beach with few people around

Horseshoe Crab Shell

Three sailboats appeared to be Buddy Boating West down Hawks Channel

These guys were soon getting their sails down 

We thought we were going to see our fist Florida Water Spout, The first two sailboats got their sails down but the one in the back kept on sailing. We just hoped this would not pass over Boot Key Harbor. 

Curry Hammock State Park
http://www.floridastateparks.org/curryhammock/
"Curry Hammock is made up of a group of islands in the Middle Keys, with public access to swimming, a playground, picnic tables, grills and showers on the ocean side of Little Crawl Key. The hardwood hammocks found on these tropical islands support one of the largest populations of thatch palms in the United States. Mangrove swamps, sea grass beds and wetlands provide vital habitats for tropical wildlife."

We had been wanting to do a Kayak tour as they are offered all through the keys at the various parks. This tour guided by a Park Ranger was a two hour Circumnavigation of Little Crawl Key. As always,  it is always better to have a guide to point out and educate you about the environment around you. By now we are pretty educated about the mangroves but not the various species of sea grasses, and Jellyfish, and other shallow water life forms, all a precious part of the ocean ecosystem. We chose to rent one of their Kayaks rather than carry ours to the park. Pleased that they had the same exact Malibu for two Kayak that we own. There was a part of the tour that takes you through a narrow passage through the Mangroves. It was pretty cool and several times before I had tried to get the Admiral to go into those areas when we were out kayaking on our own but she was not interested. Having the guide eased her mind and she did not have to worry that there might be a Crocodile or snake hanging around.
After the tour she wanted to go out to a sand bar a couple hundred yards off the shore but my butt hurt after two hours so I was ready to stand up. We finished our day at Curry Hammock with a walk around the nice beach and a walking tour of the RV/Camping area. really nice facilities. We talked to a couple of snow Birds who come to Florida every year and stay several months in their RV. the State Parks are preferred by the Snowbirds since the spaces for their RV's are much nicer than the private parks but you can only stay for two weeks. They have to have their reservations in at each State park a couple of years in Advance as they have to move every two weeks to the next one. Hum, their trip is dictated by some imposed park schedule and sailors are ruled by the weather. Nature or Bureaucracy take your pick.