Dry Tortugas National Park

As I mentioned last week, the topic tree is running low on fruit and since I have gotten no suggestions, I scrolled through the Yahoo Travel site looking for something to write about this morning.  I didn't find much. There was one article that intrigued me however, entitled Snorkeling in our U.S. National Parks? Three Ideal Parks to Experience Life Underwater.  I've been to one of the three parks they mention.  In fact I think I mentioned it in a blog a week or so ago.  But today we will cover it in depth.

Dry Tortugas National Park is located about 70 miles west of Key West.  You can only get there via sea plane or boat.  I visited it a few years ago while I was in Key West for the better part of a week.  I would love to have gone via sea plane.  But those trips were too expensive.  So we settled on the high speed catamaran trip on the Yankee Freedom III, I guess.  The article and the website says it's the Yankee Freedom III.  I personally thought we were on the Yankee Freedom II.  So, maybe III is the new one or maybe we really were on III.  Anyway, it was a Yankee Freedom catamaran.

We had to be at the boat very early in the morning which can be difficult in Key West. You see Key West can be somewhat of a party town.  So, while being out before 6:00 a.m. may not be all that unusual there, it is if you are leaving your hotel rather than returning to your hotel.  We took a taxi to the Conch Republic which is where the boat docks.  I'm not sure why they wanted us there so early.  We sat around and watched chickens for what seemed like a very long time while they got the boat ready.

Once we were on board they had fruit, donuts and coffee for us.  The guys in the picture with the chickens were doing some work on the island so they were taking camping gear and staying.  They said that they stay on the island for several weeks at a time to work.  There is no running water on the island.  They basically camp out in open air shelters inside the fort.  By the way, before 7 a.m. we were already sweating.  So I can't imagine what it would be like to sleep out in an open area on a cot.

The ride out took an hour and a half to two hours.  The water was like glass so it was nice to just sit back and enjoy the ride.  You pass by hundreds of little islands on the way.  So there were lots of islands to see.

The photo to the left was basically what we saw all the way to the Dry Tortugas... water with islands in the distance.  But once you arrive you are greeted by the magnificence of Fort Jefferson.  The fort itself is a six sided brick building surrounded by water.  Construction on the fort began in 1846.  But it was never even completed.  The fort was said to be obsolete by the end of the Civil War when it was realized that rifled cannon could penetrate the brick.

Nevertheless, it played a roll in the blockade of the South during the Civil War and was used to imprison Union deserters.  Among the people imprisoned at Fort Jefferson were Samuel Mudd, Michael O'Laughlen, Edmund Spangler and Samual Arnold all of whom were believed to have conspired in the assassination of Lincoln.  Mudd attempted an unsuccessful escape not too long after arriving there and as a result was kept in a ground level gun room known as "the dungeon"


until he earned his way out after the prisons doctor died in a yellow fever outbreak and as a physician himself, he took over medical responsibilities stopping the spread of the disease.

Since construction of the fort was never completed, there are no inner walls.  So, the prisoners were held in open air rooms with walls only on three sides.  The park rangers who stay on the island overnight as well as those men who were doing the work and being transported with us also live in the same conditions today.

The inside of the fort

View of Bush Key

The fort is surrounded by other keys.  The National Park encompasses 100 square miles.  Fort Jefferson itself only covers a little over 20 acres on Garden Key.  As far as the snorkeling goes, the pylons are the best place for snorkeling.  You get in the water at the beach and then circle back to your left to get to the pylons.  It is possible to snorkel all the way around the fort.  But since you can only get in and out of the water on each side, you have to be prepared to spend over an hour in the water with no break if you plan to do that.

You are not allowed in the moat at all.  But from the surface you can see an amazing reef system in it with thousands of sea urchins and fish visible from the surface.  The water all around the key is fairly shallow.  And visibility is extraordinary.  On the day we were there, it seemed kind of endless, but I suppose it was 60 feet or more.  The coral are really amazing.  I am a big fan of brain coral and purple fans both of which grow in abundance.

Main Entrance

The best snorkeling is in the pylons.

The balance of the photos are from our day of snorkeling in the Dry Tortugas.  With the Yankee Freedom, we had about 3 or 4 hours to spend there.  They gave us a short tour of the fort and a brief history immediately after arriving.  Then they served lunch on the boat.  Lunch consisted of sandwiches and salads along with soft drinks, punch and tea.  After that we snorkeled for a few hours and walked around taking pictures.  There is a gift shop at the fort and it is the only air conditioned place in the fort.  So, it can become quite popular.

Brain Coral

Sea Urchins in the moat

If you ever visit Key West, I highly recommend taking a day and making this trip to Dry Tortugas National Park.  It is some of the best snorkeling you can do in the continental U.S. and well worth the time and money.

Have a great Wednesday....  If you are interested in having me dig some information up on a place you are interested in, let me know.