The Coral was SO Hard

by Bob Scott
(Allentown, PA)

My wife and I only camped in the Key West area once, back in the mid-70's, but we loved it and hope to return in 2010.

We had driven from Pennsylvania and arrived at our campsite in mid March in the midst of an amazing windstorm. As we tried to pitch our tent (with all of our luggage and camping necessities stacked on top of the tent so it would not blow away) I started to pound the yellow plastic tent stakes into the ground. As they went "in", they we splitting and breaking because the campsite was on coral and it was like driving a stake into concrete. I looked up to see my camping neighbor smiling (a tad amused he was) and finally suggested I needed a better stake. I asked him to watch all our stuff, while I drove into Key West to find a hardware store, where I bought a dozen 16 penny nails and a hammer. When we arrived back at the campsite, I promptly used the new "stakes" and pounded those suckers into the coral and secured our tent. I am guessing that those nails are still there today, as I was not able to extract then when leaving.

All in all we had a great time and have visited the Keys numerous times since, but always in hotels. Now, we are preparing to return and try tent camping once again. Any suggestions?

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