Dec 20-23. Dry Tortugas National Park.
The pinnacle of this adventure – camping at Dry Tortugas National Park. The whole idea of this road trip camping was built upon this.
Wiki. Dry Tortugas National Park is a national park in the United States about 68 miles (109 km) west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico. The park hosts Fort Jefferson, a massive but unfinished coastal fortress and the largest brick masonry structure in the Americas. Visitors can only access the park by ferry or seaplane from Key West, and the official ferry transportation is the Yankee Freedom Ferry.
Dry Tortugas National Park is also the 3rd national park in Florida. The first part of this road trip was spent camping in the other 2 parks, the Everglades (@ Long Pine Key Campground) and Biscayne (@ Elliott Key Island).
I spent 3 nights / 4 days at the park. This was one of the best camping experience I have ever done, and a highly recommended one!
Day 1.
The day started with an early loading of the campers’ gears, from tent packs to food provisions, including LOTS of water. There is no fresh water in the park, so campers need to make sure they have enough water for the duration of their stay. Rule of thumb is 2 gallons per person per day. I brought 8+ gallons of fresh water. I’ve also rented a kayak, for the purpose of visiting the nearby island, Loggerhead Key, 3 miles away from the main park. YOU must include this if you are planning to visit and camp at Dry Tortugas. You can rent a kayak from Marty @ 1-305-741-1934, a very straight up guy who’s been doing this for years, (even the Yankee Freedom folks know him).
Upon arrival at the park, the day-visitors disembarked first, while we, the campers, were given orientation by a park ranger. It was ranger Mike for our trip. He gave us the do’s-and-dont’s of staying in the park. After the orientation, it was time to unload and find a camping spot. Boy, did I get very good spot with plenty of shade! The rest of the day was spent exploring. And at the end of the day, I enjoyed one of the most serene sunsets ever! I stayed there watching it until it became dark, to enjoy the stars. And it made me wished I remembered my constellations like I knew them when I was a kid! It was a star gazing experience where you’d still the stars after you have closed your eyes.
Day 2.
The highlight of this day was the 3 mile kayak trip to the nearby island, Loggerhead Key. I joined 2 father-and-son tandems (Steve-and-David, Rob-and-Paxson) on this trip. I wouldn’t have done this if I was alone, for safety reasons. This was a 3 mile kayak trip in open waters! We were blessed with a perfect weather, with no wind and almost still water. To be honest, it was intimidating at first. Having some company calms you down. It took us an hour for our outbound trip. And almost the same time on our return trip, even with a some wind and waves against us. I guess we were more relaxed on the way back.
The night was spent watching and enjoying the sunset and the stars again. It’s just something I would not get tired of. And it’s free!
Day 3.
This was the day I found some time doing snorkeling in the island. And more exploring looking for the perfect spot for the next sunset and sunrise! I took a leisure walk to the adjacent islands, Bush Key and Long Key, where frigatebirds are nesting. It was such an experience watch these birds fly and coast with wings fully expanded, like kites in the sky. When the ferry arrived for the day, like a long-time island-resident, I enjoyed watching the visitors disembarked from the ferry for the day visit. I also found some time to take a nap – the first in days! And at the end of the day, tried to savor my last night in the island.
Day 4.
Like the other days, I woke up way before twilight. Enjoyed the last sunrise I would see in the island. Captured the moment in my action cam from dark to full daytime, although the video would never equal what my eyes have seen. Broke camp after breakfast and put the gears back in the docking station for the trip back to Key West. One last snorkeling, and it was time for some much needed rest. When the ferry arrived, I stayed inside after lunch, and took a nap. At 2:45pm, we left the island.
We arrived in Key West after 2:30 hrs, and after unloading and saying goodbyes to the people I’ve met (Steve-and-David, David-and-Aimee, Peter-Rita-and-Eddie, Hollywood), it was time to go. Camping adventure is over. Time to go home.
Epilogue. Here are some timelapse videos of sunrise and sunset I took in the island. Hope you enjoy them. Day1-Sunset, Day3-Sunrise, Day4-Sunrise.
