Fly Me to Dry Tortugas

 

A Motivational Monday.....on Tuesday.  

     Off the coast of the Florida Keys lies a National Park that many people may not even know about.  It is made up of a group of small islands and is called Dry Tortugas National Park.  What is most interesting about this place is its inaccessibility.  There are only two ways for you to get there.  Don't even think about taking your car over!  You'll make it all of about ten feet off of Key West unless you are able to steal a duck boat (not recommended).  Hopefully you all appreciate my dry humor since we are exploring the Dry Tortugas..

     If you want to get there, you have a couple of options.  You can take a boat (either the ferry that goes there or you can charter a boat yourself) or if you are feeling adventurous and you want to spend a little bit of extra cash you might want to opt for the seaplane to Dry Tortugas. Personally, I would lay out the money for the seaplane.  How many times in your life can you say you had an opportunity to ride in a seaplane?

Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas National Park courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

     The main feature of this park is the structure that stands on one of the islands, called Fort Jefferson.  It is the largest masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere made up of over 16 million bricks...and believe it or not, it remains unfinished!.  There is plenty of history available on Fort Jefferson here if you are interested.

     Another reason to visit Dry Tortugas National Park is the chance to see  coral reefs that are every color of the spectrum just along the edge of Fort Jefferson.  All you'll have to do is get some snorkel gear.

     Birdwatchers have their chance at a slice of heaven here at Dry Tortugas, especially in the Spring.  You might call this place something of a migration paradise.  It is a great stopover location for birds that are making the long journey north from South America.  A different post will be spent diving into the birding population at this National Park.  

Check out this great video below.  You can get an idea of how amazing this place is and you can get a quick look at the seaplane.  Hopefully I will get a chance to visit sometime soon.

Thank you everyone for visiting!