Wilderness Wandering

January 15, 2024

Happy New Year! Tim and I are back on our National Parks Journey!

We were extremely lucky to have a perfect weather day to experience Dry Tortugas National Park. 

It was sunny and in the low 80s. 

Our friends back in the Midwest are experiencing negative temperatures. 

We arrived in Key West Sunday night and went to the Hogfish Bar and Grill for dinner on our friend Carolyn’s recommendation. I love fish, and have never had hogfish before. The Hogfish sandwich was spectacular! Hogfish was described as having a scallop like flavor. There are strict limits on the amount of Hogfish that can be harvested, so it isn’t easy to find except in Key West. It is post of the Grouper family.

We weren’t quite ready to turn in so we explored the downtown area of Key West and had a drink at The Dive Bar. It was a throw back to the 70s, with old advertising and beer signs on the walls. Then on our way to our car, we made an impulse stop into a diner for a piece of Key lime pie.

It was our first time in Key West. What a great laid back, beachy vibe!  We were happy we weren’t driving Calypso. The streets are very narrow and parking is very scarce and expensive. We saw every type of alternative transportation you can imagine, including an e-bike with a side car! 

We boarded the Yankee Freedom ferry at 7:20 AM for a 2-1/2 hour 70 mile passage south across the Gulf of Mexico. Swells were a mild 2-3 feet so sea sickness wasn’t an issue for most.  There are only 3 ways to see The Dry Tortugas – ferry, sea plane or private boat. 

Upon arrival, we walked off the boat and took our National Park photo and stamped our National Parks passport. 

We listened to a 20 minute presentation on the history of the park and Fort Jefferson. The island has a long history of use by Indigenous people as well as pirates. After The Louisiana Purchase, it was decided to build a fort there to protect the trade routes of the Caribbean.

There are 16 million bricks in the fort and the color of the brick changes from orange to red because the starting orange brick came from Pensacola, FL, but after FL seceded from the Union during the Civil War, they had to bring the brick from the North.

We also learned the difference between a key and an island. A key is a very flat island formed on top of coral reefs and an island is earth rising from the floor of the body of water.

After the tour, we had some lunch and walked out a sand spit called Bush Key hoping to see some birds, but didn’t see much. 

Bush Key is closed from February to November because at that time it becomes a bird nesting ground.

Dry Tortugas is strategically located at the end of the 3rd longest coral reef in the world. Ponce de Leon (of the search for the fountain of youth fame) named the island Las Tortugas (The turtles). The British amended the name to “Dry” Tortugas because there is no water on the island. We were not lucky enough to see any turtles. 

Next we snorkeled in the bay on the North end of the island. The water temperature was in the low 70s. It was a little brisk as we got in, but was comfortable for snorkeling. The walls of the moat had many beautiful sea plants and fish, but we didn’t see a lot of coral. I did see a jellyfish. I was sorry not to have a waterproof camera to snap a picture. 

We further explored Fort Jefferson while we dried off.

Every day the park service issues a very small number of passes for overnight camping on the island. You have to pack everything in and out. There is no fresh water on the island even today. We walked through the campground and saw a hermit crab and some very friendly birds. There is a unique water bird named the Pirate Bird. It’s wings are so long, they are unable to land on water. So they circle over the water waiting for other types of birds to catch a fish. Then the Pirate Bird swoops down and steals the fish.

We boarded The Yankee Freedom at 2:45 for the return trip. We sat with the same couple from Colorado that we talked with on the way over. Tim enjoyed chatting with Joe about his collection of 13 Studebakers!

We had just the right amount of time to explore the island and the fort. The Yankee Freedom crew did a wonderful job of taking care of all 175 of us visiting the island today!

We returned to Key West about 5:30 PM and had just enough time to change before we boarded a small boat that took us to a private island and the Latitudes restaurant. I booked this restaurant to celebrate Tim’s birthday a few days early. Tim thought it was one of the best meals he has ever had. We shared a piece of Key lime pie. I really liked this one! It had meringue on top. 

Latitudes was a very cool way to end our time in Key West!