The Florida State Park Plein Air Painting Tour – Painting each of Florida's State Parks on location
We left our cottage in Islamorada early, so when we pulled into Bahia Honda State Park the morning light was just perfect! It was a beautiful clear sunny day, but the winds were still gusting up to 30mph!
We drove along the park road that winds along a narrow beach. Rick thought he saw a good place here to get out and wade, but I decided I was definitely going to paint the bridge, so I went back in that direction.
The remains of the original Flagler Railroad bridge looms large over this park, and that was the first spot we explored. There is a trail that leads up to the top of the start of the bridge and it leads you to an above the tree-tops view of the island. The old railroad bridge was retro-fitted with pavement at the top for cars to go over to Key West. I just couldn’t imagine driving over this bridge! It is very high and narrow and I’m sure there wasn’t room for two trucks to go by each other. I am so glad there is a new bridge to drive over now!
I set up to paint the view of the bridge from the crescent shaped Calusa Beach. Coconut Palms gracefully arched over the scene with the turquoise water glowing under the bridge. A couple of fishermen tried their luck fishing off a piling. When I began to paint it was just me and a heron on the beach, but just a couple of hours later the heron was chased off by a bunch of sunbathers enjoying the beach.
After a few hours of painting, the light began to change drastically and the beautiful morning light gave way to harsh afternoon sun. So I packed it up and we headed to our next and last stop – Key West!
For more information about this park, visit their website