Dry Tortugas National Park

1/6/2017

Standing on the moat

On Christmas Eve 2016, Andrew and I visited the Dry Tortugas National Park. We boarded the Yankee Freedom III Ferry in Key West to travel to Dry Tortugas. The National Park is made up of seven small islands but the main attraction is the historic Fort Jefferson, which was once used as a prison and blockade during the Civil War. I was surprised to find out it was a Union fort; because of its location I would have originally thought it was a Confederate fort. The Union used Fort Jefferson to block the Confederates from Southern shipping. It was also used as a prison for criminals and Union deserters during the war. The most famous prisoner was Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was imprisoned for his involvement in the assasination of President Abraham Lincoln. We were able to see the prison cell that Dr. Mudd was kept in. Though used briefly during both world wars, it has long since been closed. The actual island was discovered in 1513 and the fort was constructed in the 1800's. You can travel to the Dry Tortugas via the ferry, a charted or private boat, or a charted or private plane. If you can afford to take the plane out to the fort, that's what you should do! Doing so will allow you additional time to explore Dry Tortugas. We went by ferry and left the port at 8am and had to be back by 5pm so we only got to spend four hours on the island.

Here are some facts that I found really cool on Fort Jefferson: 16 million bricks were used, they had 420 heavy guns, 37 powder magazines, a moat, and casemates (gunrooms) form the backbone of the fort. Construction began on the fort in 1846, and although it was never officially finished, it remains one of the most historic places to visit in The Keys. When you travel to Dry Tortugas you have the option of going on a 40-60 minute guided tour led by one of their expert naturalists or you can download a self-guided tour and view it on your cellphone or other device. Andrew and I elected to do the self-guided tour so we could check out exactly what we wanted to see and spend more of our time doing other things on the island. If you're mainly going to see the fort then I'd recommend doing the guided tour. The fort was like nothing I've ever seen before, it was absolutley massive and took up almost the entire island. There was also a moat around the fort which was neat since the only moats I've ever seen are around sand castles!

Andrew and I were completley in awe of the fort and were so glad we got to see it but the main things we wanted to do were snorkel, fly fish (Andrew), and relax on the secluded beaches. The water is crystal clear so snorkeling is a must! We took our own gear but the Yankee Freedom III provided snorkel gear to anyone that needed it. It depends on the way the wind is blowing which side of the island you'll want to snorkel on but I was able to see three barracudas, a moon jellyfish, and lots of other fish. Andrew didn't catch anything this trip but he did have fun fly fishing. I think it's also worth the trip out to the Dry Tortugas just for the beach. The sand is soft and powdery and the beaches are pristine. The only peope that stay on the island are the park rangers and the campers so it feels very private and secluded.

We really enjoyed our trip to Dry Tortugas and want to visit again. My only regret is that we didn't have enough time on this trip. I hope you enjoy these photos! If you've got any questions about our Dry Tortugas excursion commend below.