Dry Tortugas National Park – BOOTS on the TRAIL

Fort Jefferson Dry Tortugas National Park Florida

Dry Tortugas National Park, situated almost 70 miles (113 kilometers) due west of Key West, Florida, encompasses seven small islands and 100-square miles of open water. Fort Jefferson, the nation’s largest 19^th Century all-masonry fort, sits on Garden Key and is the focal point for tourists, such as ourselves, who weren’t bent on visiting the park’s underwater features. Garden Key is accessible only by daily concession ferry, private boats, charter boats, or seaplane; we opted to visit via the ferry (Yankee Freedom III). It’s a four hour round-trip ride to the park but that still left us plenty of time to explore the fort (there’s also time to snorkel in the waters around the fort if you’re so inclined).

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Years ago, work took me to Key West, Florida; a type of work that did not allow The LovedOne to join me. So when she expressed an interest in seeing Key West for herself, we planned a mid-winter trip to drive the Overseas Highway (I’d only flown to Key West before), spend a few days in the Keys, and also visit some of the national parks in South Florida. Our thinking was that this would be a nice break from the snowy winter we were expecting, and from all the snowshoeing we’d be doing. Well, we haven’t had much snow or any snowshoeing, but it was a very nice break just the same. We prepared ourselves for our visit by re-reading some of Carl Hiaasen’s nominally fictional novels about life in South Florida. Call them “fiction” but his stories do capture the eccentric and frenetic gestalt of Miami and points south along the Keys. The Conch Republic has its own special take on different, so Hiaasen’s Bad Monkey is essential reading for Key West visitors!

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Tag: Dry Tortugas National Park

Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida) 08-Feb-2018

Overseas Highway (Key West, Florida) 06-Feb-2018