Crane Point

This 36 acres of nature preserve is smack in the middle of Vaca Key and there is not much open space left untouched by development.  We really enjoy walking the trails and see so many of the amazing natural features of this area.  It is one of the few places where you can see everything from fresh water seeps to hard wood hammocks to one of the oldest houses in the keys.  The history is that a man, George Adderly, came from the Bahamas a bit over 100 years ago and bought the parcel.  He and his family lived a hard life but it seemed to suit them as they stayed.  In the mid century a couple from the Northeast bought the parcel and made it their winter home.  They wisely preserved most of the natural setting including the Adderly's house.  A nature trust was formed to purchase the land when it became available in the 60s.  It is well worth putting on any list of places to visit in the keys.  They even have a little tram for those who don't feel like walking the miles of trails.  They also have a bird rescue center where we saw a wide variety of native birds who haven't fared well in their encounters with humans.

The Adderly house built of local stone and held together with a mortar mix
of local materials.  The early settlers had to know a lot of things to survive .

This is called barbed wire cactus.  It climbs trees, runs along the ground and
basically gets everywhere.

In the shallow spots, you can easily see the black mangrove roots at low tide.
The plant breaths through these roots.

One side of the Crane house.  Not in the best shape but now used by the foundation.

Another view of the Crane house.  Built in 1954,

One of the directional signs.  You can see there are many features of the park to enjoy.

The sign at the entrance gives a good overview.

We walked to the end of the point to look out on the gulf.

The path was comfortably shady for a long way.

The cranes built this patio on one side of an inlet near their house.

Cactus I'm more familiar with, prickly pear.