Golden Orb Nature Trail

This time our hike in the keys didn't require boat access (like last time and the time before), but it was in a state park - Long Key State Park. 

If you clicked on the park link above, you'll see that the main campground is still closed. However, you can walk into some tent-only sites, and they looked quite interesting, complete with hammock supports, tables for cleaning fish, and screened areas at the wheelchair-accessible group site.

There are actually two hikes in this park, the Golden Orb Trail and the Layton Trail. We'll be back to do the second hike another time, and we're looking forward to it. This was a delightful little park to visit. 

During our exploration, we discovered a giant "selfie" chair. I'll need more practice with the timer button on my phone's camera, but it was nice of Wayne to humor me for a couple of tries. 

The hike itself starts at the end of a short boardwalk. 

I was disappointed that the little observation tower hasn't been repaired since Hurricane Irma in 2017, but there was still plenty of beauty to discover.

Who knows what a golden orb is? Actually, the real name is the Golden Silk Orb Weaver, and it's a type of spider native to the Florida Keys. I guess the entire name was too long to be put on a sign. Supposedly, you used to be able to spot many of these spiders on this mile-long nature trail, but since the hurricane hit a few years ago, they haven't been as prevalent. I'm okay with that!

We did find a lot a fiddler crabs, and they were quite fascinating to watch. As they felt our footsteps, they would scurry down their little holes. Intriguingly, they only have one large claw, instead of the two that we're used to seeing on crabs. How many can you count in the pictures below? Do you see their holes?

Signs warned us to watch out for and stay away from the poisonwood tree, so we did.

This nature trail went through four different ecosystems - Mangrove Swamp, Coastal Berm, Salt Pan, and Rockland Hammock.

The description of the hike did mention that at times of high tide, you might be walking through water. We weren't able to arrive at low tide, so there was a short section where our shoes got wet. Fortunately, our socks stayed dry, and it just helps us remember we're hiking in Florida!

The hammock (below) we've seen before, but the Salt Pan (above) was a new ecosystem for us. It's quite interesting, don't you think?

This is a state park; there are plenty of signs to read. Isn't it great to get educated while having fun?

After taking the hike, we changed into swimsuits and did a bit of snorkeling. The water was a bit too murky and grassy to see anything, but we still had fun. And next time we'll know to bring something to barbecue for our lunch.