Scientists and enthusiastic volunteers planted 200 live coral fragments June 13 in the waters off Key West’s Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park — launching an effort to restore coral reef tracts and establish a public snorkel park that’s easily accessible.
If you’re a fan of fine beers, ales, rums and more, you’re sure to enjoy unique libations created in the Florida Keys.
Few people realize the impact the LGBT community had on Key West beginning in the 1970s, when many gay men and lesbians “discovered” the island city.
More than 2,100 people submitted stories to the Florida Keys Flash Fiction Contest, competing to work in Ernest Hemingway’s former Key West writing studio. But none of them could outshine “Wallpaper” by Ireland’s Denyse Woods.
Visitors can enjoy the indigenous flavors of the Florida Keys, and take home tasty edible “souvenirs” to help sustain them until their next vacation escape. The Keys are home to artisan food crafters including a master chocolatier, beekeepers and even a saltmaker.
Twenty-five years ago, on May 18, 1991, two queens met on a remote island 70 miles west of Key West. Okay, actually there was only one genuine queen present at Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Park. But the other was certainly a queen to me, and to the citizens of the Conch Republic (a/k/a the Florida Keys & Key West).
In the Florida Keys, where the day-to-day business of living is easy, extraordinary creativity thrives. You'll find scores of freethinking spirits who, in the island chain’s nurturing atmosphere, indulge their talent for crafting wares as individualistic as they are.
Journalist Robert Silk has a great love for the Florida Keys’ natural world. Recently his outdoor outlook inspired him to write “An Eco-Tourist’s Guide to the Everglades & the Florida Keys,” and here he offers insights into his favorite activities and places in the region’s fascinating natural environment.
If one man’s junk is another man’s treasure, then the late Key Largo resident Stanley Papio was a treasure hunter extraordinaire. And ultimately, he became a treasure creator — crafting some of the edgiest and most eclectic metal sculptures of his generation.
The United States’ National Park Service celebrates its 100th birthday in 2016. And if you’re visiting the Florida Keys, you have a great opportunity to learn, discover and be inspired by two national parks that can be reached from the island chain.