We ♥ Dry Tortugas National Park.  What a gorgeous place!!!! We were afraid the winds would keep the boat from sailing, but fortunately they didn't!  We would have been devastated to have gone so far and not visited this incredible park.  We left the docks of Key West at 8am Friday morning and arrived at Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas National park at 10:30am.  The view was spectacular as we arrived.  Our nation's largest fort from the 1800's comprised of 16 million bricks standing in unbelievable turquoise blue waters, protecting the Gulf of Mexico- 70 miles west of Key West and 90 miles from Cuba.  The site was awesome!

We had arranged with the boat company to spend a night camping at Tortugas.   So, when we deboarded we headed to claim a campsite.  We think we ended up with the best one there.  It was fairly secluded, protected from the wind, and had a sneak peak at the beautiful beach.

We couldn't have been luckier!  When we got all situated, we made sure we got our lunch and snorkel gear from the boat and then explored.  We walked the moat wall and then when the masses left on the boat at 2:45pm, we attempted to snorkel.   The snorkeling was a bit disappointing -- between the intense winds and the jelly fish, it really wasn't all that great.  Only the moat wall was calm enough to snorkel - but we didn't last long after I was stung by a jelly.  But, the beach itself was heavenly and empty!  We regretted staying only one night.

Before the sun set we explored the Fort.  We climbed up to the top for some gorgeous views and to check out the Harbor Light (still functions today).  We also stared at the mass of magnificent frigate birds circling the harbor light.  There were even some males with bright red, ballooned chests - ready for mating.  They were pretty cool to watch.  We climbed down just before the sun set and captured the brick turning an orange red with the light of the setting sun.  The best thing about it - we had the place to ourselves.

We slept like rocks and enjoyed the tranquility before Saturday's boat arrived.  I gave snorkeling another shot.  Lee was my jelly fish spotter from the moat wall.  It worked pretty well.  I saw some pretty coral growing off the wall and a few fish -- the rangers were saying most of the fish had been blown else where with the high winds.

We then returned to exploring Fort Jefferson  and completing the self-guided tour.  It really was an interesting place.  Not only did it house 2,000 militia in the 1800's, but it also served as a prison for a few Union Dissenters.  One of which was Samuel Mudd.

Dry Tortugas was definitely one of our trip highlights. Next time (and we really hope there is a next time), we'll camp for longer!  The Tortugas Pictures are also in the gallery.