These are mangroves. Red Mangroves, to be exact. There are 3 kinds of mangroves - red, black and white. Red Mangroves can actually start forming islands when sand and seaweed get stuck in their roots. Black Mangrove roots are like pencils sticking straight up out of the earth. They can grow close to each other and thrive off the salt water.
My little squirt on the viewing platform of the Bear Cut Fossil Reef.
From what I can remember, this reef is made of fossilized mangroves. It's really pretty neat to see. The little white caps you see in the picture are where the waves are breaking over the reef. The water was so clear and shallow, I wanted to walk out in it, but unfortunately I didn't have a change of shoes with me. That's downtown Miami in the background.
Ana spotted this little guy on the trail. It's a juvenile Spinytail Iguana. They're cute and colorful when they're young, but lose they're color when they get older. They are not native and very abundant on the Key.
We left Key Biscayne and headed to Alice Wainwright Park in Coconut Grove. It's a really beautiful park and I like it alot. The homeless folks like it alot, too. It's a freaky that there seems to be a little encampment in the bushes directly across from the playground...hmmm...but there were lots of people there, so that made me feel safer. It has a terrific view of the Biscayne Bay. Madonna used to own a house near this park, as did Sylvester Stallone.
We also stopped on Virginia Key to check something out and Ana spotted...a cat? No, not a cat...it was an albino raccoon! Way cool!!!! I wanted to take a picture of it, but before I could get my camera out, the squirt had chased it away. Maybe I'll get lucky enough to see him again one day.