Ahh, the
Dry Tortugas... We have been waiting for this journey for quite some
time. Imagine kayaking through crystal blue waters from one island to the next, snorkeling with goliath groupers, camping out under the
stars all while Fort Jefferson stands mightily in the background.
Sounds awesome, right?
Well
that is how we imagined it and while it was awesome, our experience
was MUCH different.
The Dry
Tortugas are part of the Keys and the only way to get to Garden Key,
which is home to Fort Jefferson, is by boat or sea plane. We packed
up our tent and camping gear and drove in the wee hours of the
morning from Bahia Honda to Key West to hop aboard the Yankee Freedom. The
weather forecast looked nice and we were super excited.
Well as
the morning progressed, it became clear that the weather forecast for
the Dry Tortugas would not be the same as that of Key West. Our 70
mile journey through large swells was not as relaxing as I had hoped. The crew was awesome and
apparently very experienced with this sort of thing.
Jordan woke up
from her nap with a strange look on her face, which sent us stumbling
across the floor and falling on other passengers to get out into
the fresh air. She kept it all down, but we were surrounded by people
who were fighting to do so and some were losing. Inside the cabin, where Greg was, a chain reaction of sickness began to take place. I
think we were all feeling a little sea sick but my efforts to take
care of Jordan cleared mine right up. Funny how it works that way.
We were
so excited to see the fort in the distance which meant we were almost
there. Since we were camping overnight (there are only 11 campsites
on the island), we had to attend a briefing and then we headed out to
set up camp.
The wind
was fierce and unfortunately it persisted for the rest of the day.
That meant, no kayaking or snorkeling, gray, blah skies and trying to
stay warm.
But we
still had a great time. We toured the fort with a tour guide
provided by the boat we were on. He did a fantastic job and really
kept everyone interested (including the kids).
Fort Jefferson is the largest masonry structure in America. Construction began in 1846 and ended in 1875 while still incomplete. Built to protect the only harbor in that region, it was never fully armed and never involved in any battle. It did serve as a prison during the Civil War.
These are some stalagmites forming in one of the casemates, attesting to the age of the fort.
Around our campsite, the kids
had a blast collecting hermit crabs and making a play area for them.
That was probably their most favorite part.
That
night, we slept on the ground in our tents (no pads because we can't
store all of that in our RV) while the wind whipped away. I kept
waking to what sounded like a cow munching grass right outside, but
it was just the wind :)
The next
morning was just as windy and blah. We visited with some neighbors
for a little while then took a walk along the moat wall all the way
around the fort. I thought this was so cool.
We could see lots of
fish, jellyfish, sea cucumbers and conchs. The water was so clear!
And then
a wonderful thing happened! The sun came out and the wind began to
die down. So we grabbed snorkel gear and headed for the beach! The
water was cold, but doable. The kids had a hard time though. While
they had worn snorkel masks before, they had not done so with fins
and wet suits while being slapped by waves. So snorkeling was not
going to happen for us. Greg went out a little by himself but wasn't
able to explore all the areas he would have liked.
And the
kayak that we rented and paid to have brought to the island went
unused. So much for planning,
right? All-in-all we still had a very good time. The kids earned
their Jr. Ranger badge,
they
can't wait to go tent
camping again and they thought the place was pretty cool and hated to
leave. And Greg and I can't wait to come back. Probably when the
kids are a little older and during a month that is a little warmer.
It still makes our top
things to see list!
And before I go, here's a couple more pictures of this beautiful place:
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