Dry Tortugas Camping Trip

It was a three hour tour....

Actually, it took us only 2 hours and 30 minutes to cruise in spacious comfort to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas National Park aboard the Yankee Freedom III, a high-speed ocean-going catamaran specifically designed for carrying passengers safely across the 70 miles of open water from Key West to the Dry Tortugas.

West of Key West, nestled among coral reefs and white sandy beaches, lie seven remote islands (or keys) called the Dry Tortugas. Here you can see Fort Jefferson rising out of the ocean on Garden Key.

Here is the view as we docked at the Fort.  That hugh pile of stuff on the left is everyone's camping gear waiting to be claimed.  As campers, we were required to stay aboard the boat for an orientation by the National Park Service.  Ranger Dave, who runs the fort, went over all the do's and don't's of camping in the National Park. The most important aspect being that the campsites were first come first serve.  Kathy quietly whispered in Dave's ear, "As soon as the lecture is over, run over and get us a good camp site.  I'll gather up the gear and meet you there."  (Known fact - Dave can run faster than Kathy.)

Turns out, there were still a few folks in the campground, so primo camp site were few. Only because the folks next to us didn't feel like moving over, did Dave and I score a really good camp site.  Just enough sun to keep us warm and just enough shade to keep us cool.

It didn't take us long to set up the tent, stow the gear and hit the beach with the snorkel gear. Here is the boat leaving at 3:00 p.m. - stranding us on this desert island.  By the way, did I tell you that when the boat leaves, so do the 150 tourists it brought, leaving just 10 campers behind, plus a few NPS officers and some random boaters.

Dave did a great job finding a great camping site.  It only took us three days to stop hitting our heads on the low hanging branch - proving that humans can learn!

From the dock, you can see a few of the boats that have stopped by to spend the night. Most boaters come ashore either before the tourists arrive or after the tourists leave. The fort is open to the public and has a self-guided tour. The Yankee Freedom also conducts a tour of the fort each day just after it arrives.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013 was Dave's birthday. We promised each other no cards or separate gifts this year.  This trip was to be our gift.  However, that didn't stop Kathy from constructing a special birthday greeting while David napped on the beach!

By the way, the pink fins are Kathy's not Dave's - just saying - in case you were wondering - Dave does not snorkel with pink fins.

There are three ways to get to Garden Key, where Fort Jefferson is located - the Yankee Freedom, float plane or your own boat. We first found out about Fort Jefferson about 10 years ago when we came by float plane. We loved the trip so much we promised ourselves that if we ever came back, we would stay longer.

Each morning, we would greet the sunrise, have breakfast and then go up to the top of the fort to watch the Yankee Freedom return each day.  We'd wave to all the tourists as the boat docked. We must be in about 500 tourist photos! As soon as the tourists left the boat, we would go on board and sit in the air conditioning to make our lunch and then make dinner to take back to camp for later that day.  As soon as the tourists came back to the boat, we'd head to the beach for some great afternoon snorkeling.

Thursday, February 14th was Valentines Day.  Here we are celebrating the occasion.

Here is Dave with his equipment bag.  We ended up having to duck tape our camera back together.  The salty air made the waterproof case come unglued!  Talk about trouble in paradise!

A TV series called "Motion," televised on the "Live Well" network, did an episode on camping in the Dry Tortugas, which is a pretty good representation of our visit.  You can view the entire episode here.  This link was provided to us by Dave's sister Maggie.  Thanks, Maggie!

There are many more stories to share, but we thought we would give you the overview to start with.  Please feel free to go onto the next blog entry.