101 TRAVEL BITS

The white-crowned pigeon ( Patagioenas leucocephala ) is a sleek, fruit-loving bird that bears more than a passing resemblance to the everyday pigeons most people are used to. However, this Caribbean native can be identified with its mostly dark plumage, save for a white "crown" on the top of its head. In the United States, the white-crowned pigeon is found only in South Florida: the Keys, the Everglades, and the very southern tip of the mainland. John James Audubon featured

Getting to see a Key deer – the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer, found on only a few islands in the Florida Keys – is a highlight of a trip to the Keys for many people. The best advice for spotting a Key deer has long been to stop into the Nature Center at the National Key Deer Refuge and ask where to look for them – the park officials always have good advice on where they may be. However, the Nature Center is currently closed. If you still want to find one of th

One of the few freshwater bodies of water in the Florida Keys is found on Big Pine Key. Called the Blue Hole, this small pond is an old...

We recently had the chance to visit Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park (it's a mouthful). Originally a quarry for fossilized coral - also known as Key Largo limestone or keystone - the quarry provided stone for the Overseas Railway that once connected the mainland of Florida to Key West. When the railroad was completed in 1912, the quarry remained open and provided stone for buildings until the 1960s, including the stone for the St. Louis post office. The Visitor C

For several decades, the Overseas Railway took visitors from the mainland of Florida to Key West. Today, the railroad is long gone, but...

Are there alligators in the Florida Keys? The short answer is: yes, but not many. A study in the 1980s found approximately 130 alligators...

If you drive the Overseas Highway from Key Largo to Key West, you cross 42 bridges along the way. Over the course of the road’s 113...

Maybe nothing is more associated with the Florida Keys than water – it surrounds the island chain and is inescapable if you are on any of...

This week, the Florida Keys were in the news for a great white shark patrolling the waters off of the islands. However, these rare...

As you leave the mainland driving toward Key Largo on the Overseas Highway headed to the Florida Keys, you face a choice: take the main...