The historical records and photographs kept on the island provide insight into the building of the railway. As Pigeon Key Education Director Dan Gallagher pointed out, Flagler built 29 bridges to connect the Keys. Today, Highway 1 bypasses them all. Head for a beach. On Big Pine Key, just down the road from the state park, the scenery really begins to impress.
Sunshine dances on the ocean and the bay, and the water is dotted with small keys.
Water, mangroves, heat and sea smells combine in a heady mix found only in the Keys. It is quite the party, particularly along Duval Street, but it still retains an air of the days when writers, painters and pirates called it home. Both homes are highlights of a Key West visit, but there are other important sites worth exploring. The wreckers, for example, were sailors who worked in teams to save lives and goods from shipwrecks caused by Key West reefs. Their reward was a substantial cut of the value of goods salvaged.