The sun wakes me before the waves do.  It spills over the mangroves in a soft golden glow, warming the air that smells like salt and pine.

Florida Sunshine.  Spilling light over Big Pine Key between the cabbage palms and the gumbo limbo trees, without a sound are the key deer.

The island is their safe world, a place where wild hearts are protected.

Long ago her kind nearly disappeared,  lost to hunters and shrinking forests.  Back in 1957 there were only 50 key deer alive and today they have a herd of between 600-700.  

The Key Deer Refuge is right off Route 1 and a great stop for the whole family.   Drive slow and look for houses with buckets of water for the deer.

The real star here were the volunteer rangers in the visitor center, who were so kind and informative.  This one gal made our day, she was an amazing storyteller, extremely knowledgeable and taught us a lot about the history of Key Deer and their efforts to save them. 

It’s very kid friendly here and they have beautiful exhibits.  The bathrooms are Immaculate and air conditioned.

You should see many deer here, they’re like small dogs, usually 60-100 pounds. There’s 9,200 acres here where you can drive the roads or walk the trails or there’s even a bike path.  Bring bug spray!

Do not feed the deer it’s a federal offense and drive slow minding the speed limits, cops are everywhere. 

The best time to see deer is in the morning or sunset when it’s cool, otherwise they go deep once it gets hot into the hammocks to lie down.