Visiting a Remote National Park – Dry Tortugas

The main reason we decided to visit the Florida Keys again was Dry Tortugas National Park. This National Park is a rather remote one – it’s located about 70 miles off Key West.  There are two ways to get there – by plane or by boat, with approved carriers.  We opted for the boat – ferry.  It took about 2 ½ hours each way to reach Fort Jefferson, which is the heart of Dry Tortugas, on Garden Key, one of the farthest island of the Florida Keys.

We took off early in the morning from Key West.  The day promised overcast skies, with a chance of rain, but it made for a lovely scene taking off.  One may wonder why there is a fort built so far from the mainland.  One of the reasons Fort Jefferson was constructed where it was is that there are shallow waters around it, and that made for a strategic refuge for ships traveling from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

Seeing us off were some water birds – in this case, pelicans and seagulls or petrels.  It always amazes me when I see them fly across 70 miles of sea safely.  In history, before the building of Fort Jefferson began, maritime sailors used this area as safe harbor while transporting cargo and riches from the Mississippi River back to the Atlantic and then on to home, in Europe.

Approaching Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson, we could see that the fort truly encompasses just about the entire island.  It was a quick and easy docking and then we were off to explore.  And, due to the limited number of people who could be at the Park at one time, it was almost like we had the entire island, and National Park to ourselves and those on board our ferry boat.  Yes, there is another boat at the dock, but it was a National Park Service (NPS) boat, and not one that carried any tourists.

We decided to explore the outside of the Fort first.  Jeff thought it would be pretty neat to walk around the outside of the Fort on the moat wall.  In one area, the beach area next to the moat sort of encroached the moat wall.  Just off that beach area was a small area set aside for those folks who had camping passes.  Before we boarded the boat, back in Key West, I talked to a woman who was planning a 3-day camping trip, along with her husband.  She explained that they needed to bring ALL the supplies that they would need for the 3 days, as there’s no food vendor, fresh water, etc.  There is a boathouse near the camping area where the campers could use the restrooms and showers.  That bathhouse is truly there just for the campers.  They indicated that folks from the boat could use the showers to rinse off after snorkeling, but asked us to only use the restrooms on our boat.  The Dry Tortugas were given the name “dry” to indicate to others that there wasn’t and still isn’t naturally occurring fresh water on the island.

So, Jeff started off walking the moat wall.  However, when he got to the far end of one wall, he found that the moat wall was gone for a significant section – too large of a span to attempt to jump over.  I guess either Mother Nature or the NPS determined the Fort should not be walked around!

I previously mentioned the beach area next to the moat.  Here’s a look at the lovely turquoise water that surrounded Fort Jefferson and Garden Key.  Originally, we had thought about snorkeling, but based on the wave action, we decided to skip the snorkeling.  We’d sort of had our fill of snorkeling in rougher waters!

There were a number of birds at the Fort as well.  Some were smaller shore birds, but two of the larger birds were pelicans and frigate birds.  The frigate birds really seemed to be putting on a show, with some very aerobatic flying!  Or, maybe it was some sort of a mating ritual??

When we went inside the Fort, we walked through it all, except for the section that’s closed off because it’s the housing for the NPS staff assigned to Dry Tortugas.  There is an interesting bit of history about Fort Jefferson.  Although it was to be built as a defensive fort, it was never completed.  When the Civil War began, Florida tried to seize the Fort for the Confederate.  However, Union forces were there to defend the fort for the northern states.  So, the Fort never saw battle.  It was, however, used as a federal prison.  For the most part, Union soldiers were housed there when their crimes did not reach the level that called for the death penalty.  The most famous prisoner ever housed in the Fort was Dr. Samuel Mudd.  Dr. Mudd was one of the four conspirators sentenced to life imprisonment for the assassination of President Lincoln.  He helped treat John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg, and then failed to report that for 24 hours.  Of course, some say that he had no idea who John Wilkes Booth was and that when he did realize what he had done, he did admit it.  However, he was held in Fort Jefferson until he was pardoned by President Andrew Jackson.  When we were at the Fort, I met a woman who told me her name was Louise Mudhousen (or something like that).  At first, I didn’t understand what she was saying, but then realized her surname was Mudd-Housen.  She is a direct descendant of Dr. Samuel Mudd, and she allowed me to take her photo just outside of the Dungeon where Dr. Mudd was housed for part of his time in Fort Jefferson.

When Fort Jefferson was being built, construction supplies were brought in from as far away has Maine, and as close as Pensacola, Florida.  However, there was some construction material found even closer at hand, Water, sand, and coral was used in the concrete used to build Fort Jefferson.  And, in these photos, you can see bits of coral mixed into the concrete.  I especially like what looks to be a fossil in the lower image (lower left corner).  The red color in the upper image was just some plant debris that was lying on the concrete.

Here’s quite a nice shot of the inside of the Fort.  One of the common names for the area of greenery are the parade grounds, and it’s where the soldiers would gather each morning to receive their daily assignments. We were on the top level (3^rd floor, so to speak) of the Fort when I captured this image.

Here’s another image from the top level of the fort.  The number on this canon is 25, and it’s reflects that this is the 25^th canon of this style that was built, and it happened to be built in 1865.  By 1866, there were 175 canons total (of various styles) installed at Fort Jefferson.

Here’s another interesting image.  It looks like the canon has Loggerhead Key Lighthouse in its sights and is ready to fire upon it.  The cannonball could have reached the island, if they wanted it, too.  However, the canons were meant more to protect the Fort, and not allow invaders to reach the shore, so it’s highly unlikely it would have been aimed at the lighthouse!

Touring the fort was a great way to stroll through history.  You can see another canon on the right in this image, and on the left, the flag is flying as I looked out onto a bird sanctuary and rookery.  It’s one of the few places on the island not covered by the fort!

When we wandered along the 2^nd level of the fort, I loved the optics of this image.  It’s like a hall of arched doorways.  There didn’t appear to be any doors for these entryways.  They led from one canon (or space for one) to another.  My guess is that this is where the men who were not firing the canons could walk.

Here’s the view from a place where a gun/canon could be fired that was located on the 1^st level.  The opening of the door for the canon has started to crumble over time with the effects of the sea and salt.  Still, it does provide a nice view of the moat and ocean beyond.

This last image is of a boat known as the Chug.  It was called that due to the sound it made, as the engines ran and it “chugged” across the waters.  This is NOT a relic from the Civil War, but it is a relic of times more recently past, when Cubans would use whatever type of boat, raft, etc., to try to get from Cuba to any place on US soil, including Fort Jefferson.

Enjoy!

   

Sunrise at the Beach

One of the last mornings on the beach, I managed to get myself up early enough to go for an early morning walk with Jeff and Max.  It was a lovely calm morning, and I hoped to get some good sunrise, or at least early morning images.

As we approached the formal beach area, where we figured we get the best sunrise images.  But, we weren’t the first on the beach!!  A little shorebird beat us to the beach.  The pretty part of the sunrise hadn’t yet started, but he/she definitely had a front row seat!!

As the skies began to warm, pelicans flew in their own somewhat haphazard pattern across the sky, creating a lovely profile of nature.  It was nice to be up and about when what is typically a very lively beach was very quiet.

And, as I turned to view the beach back down toward where we were camped, I got this lovely view of a deserted beach.  The seaweed residue, however, was creating quite the uncomfortable sensation for my lower legs.  Lots and lots of little sandflies or something kept choosing me as their breakfast entrée – ouch!!

Max, of course, was patiently watching me and seemed to wonder why I just didn’t move to get away from the sandflies!!  He was unusually patient.  Perhaps he was confused by what I was doing.  I just need to take him on some of my photo outings, I guess!

The beach seems to roll on into the grove (??) of palm trees.  In actuality, there is a small channel between where the beach ends and the palm trees begin.  We’re just looking at a very nice optical illusion!  And, the sunrise colors are showing off their pale color this morning, too.

As the sun rose behind the clouds, I felt like the morning was a “soft” one – no blazes of colors, just an easing into the day.  Such a relaxing way to begin the morning.

But some were up and out earlier than us.  This fishing boat is making the most of a calm morning to see what sort of catch they can reel in.  I do love the play of the soft colors on both the clouds and the water.  The reflection of the sunrise is so incredibly peaceful.  

Enjoy!

Kayaking the Mangrove Tunnel

One of the things that Jeff and I committed to do was to kayak while in the Keys.  The state park where we camped was known for some good places to kayak, including through the mangrove tunnel there.  The tunnel was formed because Curry Hammock State Park in on a very small island, Crawl Key, and there’s a very tiny bridge that one needs to cross to get from Marathon Key to the state park.  There are mangroves growing on either side of the water separating Crawl and Marathon Keys, and the mangroves have been trimmed so that a natural tunnel was formed.

Although the launching area for the kayaks was very clear of mangroves and an easy launch spot, we decided to rent a kayak rather than use our inflatable kayak because of wanting to go through the mangrove tunnel.  Jeff’s concern was that the parts of the mangrove trees that were underwater might be sharp enough to poke a hole in our kayak – not a good thing!  So, we took off in a rented kayak, and were quite the comedy routine taking off and getting a handle on the hard plastic kayak, which seemed more difficult to steer, etc., than our kayak.

Finding the entrance to the mangrove tunnel was another challenge.  We knew we needed to head close to the main highway that ran through the Keys, but that wasn’t all that much help, due to how thick the mangroves were.  This was the entrance to the tunnel, believe it or not.  The tunnel wasn’t really visible until we were practically on top of the entrance!

Not long after we started down the tunnel, we came across the bridge that we drove on every time we entered or exited the park.  A couple of very large crabs were just hanging out on the side of the bridge, too.

There were a couple of interesting things about kayaking under the bridge – the first was that the “roof” of the tunnel wasn’t at all damp or slimy, as I thought it would be.  And, thank goodness for that, because the second thing was that the water level was so high, we could barely fit under the bridge!!  I practically had my head to my knees – I couldn’t even turn around to see how Jeff was managing to paddle us through here!  Needless to say, it was easy to reach up and touch the “roof”.  What was more difficult was not hitting my head!!

The “smallness” of the tunnel didn’t get much better when we exited from the tunnel.  Jeff had indicated that it was probably better if he was the only one paddling, as there was concern about getting our paddles caught up in the undergrowth of the mangrove under the water.  Also, that gave me the option of using my hands or paddle to attempt to steer us clear of the branches above the water and hopefully down the correct path to maneuver our way through the tunnel.

It seemed like a much longer time than I thought to make it through the mangrove maze, as I began to think of the tunnel!  I was wondering if somehow we had gotten turned around, when I began to see the light, so to speak – or in this case, the blue sky!  The brown in the image are the leaves that fell off the mangroves and were getting water logged enough to eventually sink to the floor of the waterway.

And, finally, we were in open water!!  At first, we thought we might kayak across to the tiny island directly in front of us, Deer Key.  But, then, we hadn’t really considered how much more effort it would take to kayak in the ocean, so we decided to just continue to kayak around the island the park sits on. 

 

As we kayaked around the island, we ended up kayaking along the beach where the swimmers, windsurfers, etc. have their fun!  In the top image, you can see how close our camp site is to the beach (see the arrow).  The bottom image is of some really pretty palm trees that were across from where the beach and kayak launch is located.    Quite the scenic kayak tour for this portion of our ride!

And, finally, a cormorant came by to say hi as we kayaked by the sign that warns the speed boats not to come closer to shore, and keeps the kayakers, swimmers and wind surfers safe!

Enjoy!

Snorkeling on Sombrero Reef

One day out on the Keys, we decided to do some snorkeling on Sombrero Reef, the third largest coral reef in the world.  The two largest?  There is one off Belize that is the 2^nd largest, and the #1 reef in the world, in terms of size, is the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

We snorkeled just off Sombrero Key Lighthouse on the ocean side of the Keys.  The waters looked fairly peaceful, and other boats out there added to the belief that it was just fine for snorkeling.  Our guide said the waves were only about a foot.  That did strike a bit of concern for me, as that would be the highest waves we’ve ever snorkeled in, but I figured that we could handle it, given that other people were.

When I first hit the water, I was lucky enough to land in the best position, facing away from the waves coming at me.  This allowed me to catch my breath and get my snorkel situated so that I could easily breathe.  I was quite surprised by the height of the waves and at first, and sort of struggled to breathe correctly (long, deep breaths vs. the shallow breaths I tend to default to).  I didn’t see Jeff, who jumped in about 10 seconds before me, but that wasn’t unusual.  We tend to be separated at first, and then make our way together after a while.  In the meantime, I noticed this fish once I did get my face in the water.  I thought he was a bit larger than most I would see….

….and as he swam away, I then realized that it was a barracuda!  I had always heard they could be somewhat mean and aggressive, and was glad he wasn’t, as it was a bit difficult to control myself and swim where I wanted.  I felt like I was being tossed about a bit by the waves, but then, everyone else was, too.

There were quite a few of these yellow-tailed fish around, when I could see any.  Due to the waves, a lot of sand was constantly being churned up and that made seeing the fish a bit difficult.  This little guy seemed to keep his eye on me, though!

When the sun would shine, it was amazing the number of fish that could be seen!  These small little fish (most easily seen in the upper left corner of the image) generally hung out at the floor bottom, which in this case, was the coral.

Again, due to the difficulty in swimming and seeing, I generally would just sort of point my camera in the general direction of what I wanted to capture and hope for the best.  I felt lucky to have captured this image.  It seems a very peaceful scene.  I was quite surprised at how peaceful it seemed below the churning waves above.  The only giveaway to what was going on was the amount of sand hanging about in the water.

It was generally overcast the morning we snorkeled, but when the sun did come out occasionally, it was very interesting to see how many fish there were swimming just below me!  At this point, I was getting a bit concerned that Jeff and I hadn’t met up yet.  I kept picking up my head and looking around for him.  I thought I had seen him a couple of times, only to find out, as the person drew closer, that it wasn’t him.  I’m at a bit of a disadvantage when we snorkel.  Jeff can see clearly – I am generally more limited, as I don’t (of course) have my glasses on.

This image gives the best look at the coral, with the sea grass growing up out of it.  I wished the waters would have been calmer to allow me to see it more clearly.  But, where was Jeff?

One of the last fish I noticed was this little zebra fish.  I didn’t see a lot of these and this little guy was sort of off on his own, having a solitary swim.  Right after I saw him, I picked my head up to again look for Jeff. This time, though, I looked over at the boat, and saw him already back on the boat. Since I was quite tired of fighting the waves at this point – I think they were about 3 feet high as they would come over my head when I held my head above the water – I gladly made my way back to the boat.

It turns out, when Jeff entered the water, he inadvertently faced the wrong way and was caught in the face by a wave.  He ended up with water up his nose, in his lungs, and down his tummy.  He ended up coughing so hard out in the water, the guide was almost ready to go in after him to “rescue” him.  Jeff motioned that he was ok, but he decided that he would just head in to the boat and skip snorkeling for the day.  As it turns out, I had been in the water for about 45 minutes!  No wonder I was really tired.  We both enjoyed the ride back to the pier and dock, and I especially liked getting this different perspective shot of the new (on the left) 7-Mile Bridge and the old one on the right.  The old bridge is somewhat of a park now, with people walking, running and biking along the portion of the bridge that is open.  It’s only open for a couple of the 7 mile span.  They’ve then removed a section of that old bridge to limit people’s’ access to the part that is considered the safest.

Enjoy!

At the Beach in the Florida Keys

Our first morning in the Keys began with a walk on the beach after the sun had risen.  What a soft morning!

Looking to the north, there were some mangroves that grew out over the shoreline.  This state park is on its own little island, Little Crawl Key, and there are lots and lots of mangroves on the island.  But, more about those in a later blog.

Off to the other direction, you can see another small island beyond the shoreline tree.  That island is called Deer Key, and Jeff and I had thoughts of kayaking around that island.  We’ll see…..

The beach also turned out to be perfect for wind surfing!  No, we didn’t try that (visiting an emergency room was not on our agenda!), but we did enjoy the show they often put on in the afternoons!  The bright colored parachutes really looked great against the blue, blue sky.

I did learn something interesting about wind surfing – there is a part of the parachute that gets inflated!  It helps to stabilize the chute when it’s in the air, and helps the surfer control the chute.

And, control is what’s needed to be able to fly!  Some of the tricks that they do in the air – twists, flips, etc. – certainly require them having control of the parachute in the wind, which can shift at any time!  They do a good job of doing that!!

As I was looking up at the wind surfers, I noticed all the coconuts ripening on the palm tree!  No wonder anyone chose to sit under this tree!

Our last view will be a mid-day view of Deer Key.  I like this because the blue of the sky and the ocean is so vibrant!  The trees and beach grass compliment it perfectly, too.

Enjoy!  

A Walk on the Wild Side

Across from Curry Hammock State Park (where we stayed for 2 weeks) is a sort of annex of the park, what is billed as a Nature Trail.  One morning, Jeff and I decided to take Max on a trail walk, since it was pet-friendly.  The walk began on Grassy Key Trail, a trail that will, eventually, run the entire length of the Keys and will be paved (black-topped) so that walkers, runners and bikers can easily enjoy it.

But, there is a nature trail that branches off from Grassy Key Trail after about ¼ mile from the point where we started.  The map from Curry Hammock provided a map and we thought it would be a good morning outing.  I guess I sort of assumed it would be somewhat of an easy trail to walk (by that, I mean sandy), so I just had my sandals on.  However, as we started down the trail, I realized that it wasn’t going to be a sandy trail!

In fact, the path was covered in patches of coral!  As a bit of history, this part of Florida, the Keys, is fairly “new” land in the overall history of the world.  It’s only about 100,000 years old, a mere baby when you consider the Earth has been around for 4.5 billion years!!  I guess  some  might say the ancient people of the Earth were also responsible for the last great ice age (prehistoric global warming, I guess!) , because, at that time, while snow accumulated forming glaciers in some areas, in other parts of the world, sea levels were dropping, exposing coral reefs that flourish in the Keys.  So, the foundation of the Keys is coral, like you see in the photos above.  It was rather difficult walking on these coral reefs, since the coral is now like some extremely hard and unforgiving rocks, and not the delicate living organism that one finds underwater!  Needless to say, my sandals weren’t really made for this type of walking!!

One thing we did come across that wasn’t plant life, or coral, in nature, were these bones.  We have no idea to what they really belong, but we are guessing that maybe they are those of a Key Deer.  Key Deer are a subspecies of the white-tail deer and are only found on the Florida Keys. They are smaller than typical deer.  There is a protected refuge for them in the Keys.  However, it appears that the area was quite extensively damaged during Hurricane Irma (first Category 5 storm of the Atlantic 2017 hurricane season).  Did this little deer get lost and somehow end up here, several miles north of the protected refuge, due to the storm?  We’ll never know, but it is a mystery of nature.

I have to admit, I really like to photograph palms, and the Keys are certainly a great place to find them!  There were also plenty on this trail.  Here are 2 of my favorite images – one because of the great pattern of lines, leading to or away from the “heart” as I think of it.  The second image is one that really shows how lovely they can look when the sun shines from behind and really lights up the green!

Another interesting thing we saw was this perfectly round hole in the ground as we walked along what seemed to be the main path.  We couldn’t imagine what it was until, a few steps further on the trail, we came to a palm tree growing out of what looks like a similar hole!  Apparently, the palm tree that the hole we discovered once held was pulled out or somehow removed (no palm tree lay around that area) and left that perfect hole!

I call this “perfect irony”.  As we walked off and out of the trail, back onto the paved Grassy Key Trail, not far from our Jeep, we noticed this sign.  A fine time for a warning!!  LOL!!

Enjoy!