Dry Tortugas NP (FL)

wsp_scott

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Warning: way too many photos, I just dumped the whole blog post here out of laziness :)

Dry Tortugas National Park
July 5 - 8, 2020 (3 nights)

The whole reason for going to Florida at the height of Summer was three nights camping in the Dry Tortugas. The ferry to get to the island only take 10 campers a day. We have three kids and so do our friends, so we needed a day when no other campers had reservations. We also wanted to go for three nights (the max if you take the ferry). Even though my wife was doing this last November, the earliest we could go was the beginning of July. Oh well, it would have been just as hot in June and COVID would have blown up the whole thing anyway.

We had spent a couple days at a resort type place in between Marathon and Islamorada and then drove to Key West the night before the ferry ride to the Dry Tortugas.

After a very early morning (we had to be at the boat at 6 am to load all the gear) and a 2ish hour ferry ride, we got to Garden Key and unloaded all our camping gear and two sit on top kayaks. As we were still setting up, I looked towards the east and saw a water spout.



I quickly walked to where I could get a better photo, but it was already breaking up.


We finished setting up and swam in the ocean, had dinner and waited for sunset. Garden Key is the site of Fort Jefferson. I went up to the top of the wall for sunset and was hoping for a good full moon rise photo as well.


The camp area is to the left. There was a large group near by and a couple small groups, but it was very quiet.




This is where the moon should have been appearing, but the clouds were too thick on the horizon.


Lighthouse on Loggerhead Key (about 3 miles away)


I woke up before sunrise and grabbed my camera to go exploring


Fort Jefferson and its moat


Part of the island (Bush Key) is closed for nesting birds, they were very loud








The full moon that I missed the night before








The next day, my youngest and I went exploring inside the fort.


Neat flower on the banana tree




Inside the walls








Shot Furnace and Wikipedia link about Heated Shot




My wife and middle kid having fun with the kayak


The whole camp area (actually the whole island) was crawling with hermit crabs. I spent a bit of time with my camera. They move really fast and it was hard to get a good photo with a shallow depth of field. I might have got carried away with the number of photos, but all the different shells and sizes were very interesting and it was too hot to do anything else :)


























Old machinery on the North Beach






Another boring FL sunset






Our last morning was mostly packing up since everything had to be on the dock before the ferry arrived. We were moving slow in the heat when a neighboring camper mentioned that one of the turtle nests on the beach was hatching. Evidently he had seen about 30 hatchlings. We got there in time to see one turtle moving down the beach and then about 30 minutes later someone else said there were a couple more so we hurried back and saw two more just coming out of the nest. From the park website, I'm pretty sure they were Green Turtles.





Made it to the water


I took a couple short videos but they are hosted on my blog so I can't imbed them here. You can see them at https://backpackandbeer.blogspot.com/2020/09/dry-tortugas-fl-2020-part-2.html down at the bottom of the page.

A little more wandering before getting on the boat.




Not photographed: lots of swim time, lots of happy hour time, reading in the shade, some snorkling (I saw a 6ish foot nurse shark about 10 feet below me), some fishing, kids playing hide and seek in the fort, rounds of Mafia/Werewolf before bedtime, stars and the moon. All in all an awesome three nights, hope to make it back someday.
 
Gosh, Thanks for posting this on the Dry Tortugas. This and the nearby Florida Keys is really one spot I really want to get to in me of these days. One of the reasons is that I am a birder bigtime. This has been on my bucket list for quite awhile. Again Thanks for posting and Loved the photos and the trip report. Wishing You The Best!
 
I've wanted to go there for several years, but living in Washington state, it's quite a trek to get there!
Thanks for the TR, inspiration, and the beta about the camper ferry.
 
Glad you liked the photos, The Dry Trotugas is a beautiful place definitely worth adding to your bucket list.
The Keys are "interesting", very crowded, full of tourists and not really my kind of place. But, if you had access to a boat, the Keys could be awesome
 
Jealous. This has long been on my list. Loved the hermit crabs and little turtles.
 
Oh my gosh! So cool to see a different area! Thank you for sharing!

I LOVE the photos of the hermit crabs and turtle! I would have never left them, I would have had 1000s of photos of just them haha. So cute!
 
The hermit crabs were very entertaining, but the turtles were the highlight of the trip, really neat to actually see a hatching
 
That looks great. I live in Florida, but haven't been yet. Maybe sometime this winter, when it cools off.
 
Been to they keys many times, but never made it there. I still hope to, your pictures have pushed it up my list!
 
I should add that anyone thinking of going to the Dry Tortugas should plan on camping (figure out how to make it work with your schedule and go for at least 2 nights) because the daytrippers don't have enough time to both swim/snorkel and to see the fort, not to mention they miss sunrise and sunset. We were always happy to see the ferry leave in the afternoon, but we felt bad for all the people who did not know what they were missing :)
 

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