Keep Checking In!

Although we are back from the Keys, we will continue posting throughout the summer. We will be in Destin, Florida next week- so anything noteworthy, we will post here. Also, we are working on lesson plans that we will post here for you to use as you wish. We appreciate your comments and your visits to our page!

The Turtle Hospital

We visited the Turtle Hospital on Friday. It is a wonderful place where scientists and researchers rescue and rehabilitate sea turtles from the area. They have about 15 turtles that live there full time- classified as unreleasable. Many are simply unable to hunt their own food due to various conditions that cause them to float. If you ever see a sea turtle at the surface sort-of floating around, it is sick and needs help. You can call the police department in the area and they will help you get in touch with the proper people- you should never try to help the turtle your self- they can bite, and will bite.
It was a great place to visit- the turtles are amazing creatures of strength and beauty that have withstood the test of time. Check out their website, and try to donate or even adopt a turtle.

Sign out front

Operating room

Exam room

View of the tanks where turtles are cared for

More tanks


Some turtles live in a large pool- they are unreleasable....


This turtle was hit by a boat propeller

Crane Point Nature Center

We toured Crane Point Nature Center on afternoon. They had a museum filled with information from the prehistoric days of the Florida Keys to the present days of conservation. They had a small water feature with a nurse shark and other native fishes as well as small touch tanks filled with sea stras, Queen Conchs, and other friendly organisms. We walked on a nature trail for about a mile out to the gulf- Crane Point. We took pictures of the native foliage on our walk through the mangrove- we plan to use the pictures to create a lesson over classification and dichotomous keys.

Entrance to the center- beautiful metal doors that look like a coral reef

An old cannon near the entrance

Artifacts from natives

Gigantic grouper- called a Goliath- originally known as a Jewfish

Crocodile skull

Sperm Whale skull

Differences between alligators and crocodiles

Crab-Like Spider (it's real name)

Big gigantic spider (what I call it)

Jenn gather important documentation

Poinciana

Poinciana trees were all over the place in the Keys. They look very similar to a Mimosa tree that is quite common in central Oklahoma, except they have vibrant red flowers all over them. Also- in the background, notice the cloud formation- Many of these cumulonimbus clouds could be seen forming thunderstorms for afternoon showers. A few hours later, the same clouds produced a large storm with high winds and about 8 inches of rain. I also have included a picture of a baby horseshoe crab. Horseshoe crabs are said to be some of the oldest marine creatures alive today.




View of the thunder clouds from Sandspur Beach at Bahia Honda State Park

Turtle Kraals

The Turtle Kraals Museum is an old turtle cannery. Up until 1971 it was legal, and profitable, to catch/kill/eat sea turtles in the United States. The Kraals is an old cannery where sea turtles were harvested and sold.


Baby Kemp's Ridley turtle named "Squirtle"

Another shot of Squirtle

Look at the size of this leatherback turtle shell

View of the building from the dock

USS Mohawk

We toured the USS Mohawk that is docked in Key West near Fort Zachary Taylor. The ship was about 3 weeks from becoming scrap metal when the current owners rescued her and began the restoration process. It is amazing to see all of the WWII artifacts and learn about life on a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter. The only money they have to use on the restoration is from tours and donations....check out their website, maybe you or a family member would like to help their cause.

The USS Mohawk

Big gun on the bow

One of the many artifacts on the ship

Barrel of TNT on a launcher

Menu for Christmas dinner, 1942

The war is over! Original letter from the Coast Guard Commander

Another view of the ship

Eco Discovery Center

Thursday we went back to the Eco-Discovery Center in Key West. They had many educational displays that educated visitors on the many ecosystems found in the keys. The Keys are not just an ocean/marine ecosystem- there are abundant seagrass beds, coral reefs, mangroves, and protected wetlands. The center has no admission fees and is really a great place to learn about all the different forms of life in the area- a pretty amazing place.

Simulated underwater research capusule

Mote Field Station

On Thursday we stopped into Mote Marine Laboratory's Research Station in Summerland Key. They do a lot of coral research there and have many ongoing projects with traveling researchers. They also host several universities so students can conduct their own field studies while staying in the dorms that Mote has on site. Other researchers use the facility as a docking station in between their trips to the field- for example a man was preparing for one of his many sailing trips out to the Tortugas for a 3 week stay to study nurse sharks. Amazing. It was a great place to see- we got several educational materials and a tour of the facility.


Outside of one of their buildings

Our guide with a coral sample

One of many large taks of coral fragments...they collect coral in the sea, and fragment it for growth in tanks- from the growth they conduct their research

Beautiful coral samples

Another specimen

Some of the concrete molds they use to attach their fragments to

Fragment attached to the mold

Coral specimen

Boating

Wednesday was the last day that we had the boat. There were lots of storms in the area, so the water was a little difficult to navigate. We also tried our hands at fishing, all over the place, but no luck. So we ended up refueling the boat and ourselves and returning the boat in the afternoon. The remainder of the day we were recovering from the waves....


View out Boot Key Harbor towards the Atlantic

Burdines

View in Boot Key Harbor- many boats tie up in the harbor and stay the night- mainly sailboats...huge boats....

View from a channel- thought we could catch fish back there- no luck

7 mile bridge in the distance- lots of clouds, too.....

Another shot at the 7 mile bridge