One Of A Kind

If there is anything we have too much of in Florida, it's development. But if you know where to look, there are still some places that remain relatively quiet and serene, or at least quaint in their arcane charm. One such spot is the Blackburn Point Pivot Bridge onto Casey Key down in Osprey, Florida. The key is filled with million dollar homes, but the bridge to the island is a small, one-laned steel span that rotates 90 degrees to allow the boat traffic to pass. I've never found a good spot to get a picture of this bridge, so I apologize about the composition of these shots. But hopefully you get the idea. I think the clearance under the closed bridge is about 6 feet, so it has to open for almost all the boat traffic, and there is a lot. And believe it or not, the operation of the bridge is not automated. A bridge tender has to activate the gates to block the traffic, then walk to the center of the span to operate the controls and rotate the bridge. I wanted to ask if I could walk out with the operator and ride the bridge, but I was too shy. Maybe next time...