Dry Tortugas National Park

Before we owned our boat, we decided it would be great to get to know the boat life somewhere local-ish. We didn't want to go too far away from people and land, so we thought hanging out in the keys would be a good idea. Then we realized there were some national parks we could stop and explore, Dry Tortugas being the main one we wanted to stop and see. This park is only accessible by seaplane or boat, so why not make it part of our journey?

Looking through one of many archways inside of Fort Jefferson.

People in our Facebook Endeavour Owners group have said the ideal crossings from Key West were few and far between. We figured we'd try to go and if it didn't work out, we could try another time. According to our schedule, we were going to try to cross on July 5th, but of course, Elsa was expected that day. The southern end of the storm needed enough time to make its way north and we had to wait for my parents' flight to come in, so the updated itinerary had us crossing on July 9th. Looking at the weather, wind, and waves forecast, it would be a great day for crossing- the first decent day since before Elsa. My parents were hesitant to join us, but as Ben told them, "We are going to the Dry Tortugas tomorrow. You can stay here or you can come with us." Needless to say, they joined us and we all were thankful for the very smooth and uneventful 4.5-hour crossing.

My mom, the kids, and I sat in the beanbags on the foredeck while Ben and my dad sat in the cockpit. Some dolphins were spotted and some people took naps. Out in the distance, off the port side of the boat, we saw what looked like a cell tower or metal lighthouse. Looking at the GPS and with the binoculars, we could see that it was a marker for the Gulf of Mexico.

Gulf of Mexico marker

For most of our 4.5 hours, with the exception of the very first and last moments, there was no land in sight. I did not sleep well the previous night because I was worried my parents wouldn't enjoy their time on the boat. I didn't have to worry about that with Ben's mom because her parents had a sailboat and she has some boating knowledge. My dad has a curse when it comes to boats, so he has sworn them off for as long as I can remember. When people hear I was born in Florida, they assume I have some boat knowledge or experience, when in fact, I didn't have much when we started this boat life just a few weeks ago. As I was trying to sleep I couldn't help but hear the voice inside of me wondering what my parents were thinking and how they were feeling, hoping they could enjoy themselves and that I wasn't making their boat experience worse for them.

We pulled around Garden Key and got a full view of Fort Jefferson. Just knowing that this place has been around since 1845 was pretty cool. Learn more about the park and its history here. Unfortunately, we didn't get a tour, but we were able to read the information that was posted around the fort and get a sense of what it was like to be in the octagonal-shaped fort in years past.

First glances of Fort Jefferson, by boat.

Can you find 4 of our people on the parade grounds?

Moose and Ben walking along the top level of Fort Jefferson.

This is the inside of the cool cylindrical-roofed building. It was used to hold ammo and powder.

Spiral staircases take you to level 2 and the roof.

We found Cartermaran!

After walking around the fort, we decided we'd go for a quick dip in the water and test out our full-face snorkels. Our quick dip lasted somewhere close to 2 hours because the water was the perfect temperature and the sea life was incredible! There were so many different fish in the water around Garden Key- we made up names for a few of them, including the Bee Fish which was a little black and yellow striped fish that reminded us of a bee. The snorkels worked great for everyone except Roo, who may just need a little bigger face for it to work properly. She was busy and content with finding coral in the sand and watching little crabs that colonized on the wall of the moat.

Roo's Coral Collection

SO. MANY. CRABS!

There is a moat that runs around the fort, the outer boundary wall is wide and is like a giant brick path along the perimeter. We walked along that to where it dead ended, exploring the sea life from above. I looked out in the distance and saw 2 fins that looked like all of the dolphins we'd been seeing, but one was dipping down and the other stayed stationary above the water. I asked Ben what it was because it was clearly different. He said, "THAT is a shark." After we alerted the swimmers in the water, who casually asked what kind it was and continued snorkeling, we watched as it swam off in the distance and eventually swam deeper and disappeared. All of us saw it, so it was pretty exciting and put a check on Moose's "Things To See" list.

Thinking we'd explore Loggerhead Key the next day, we headed back to the boat, hung out on the deck, and watched the sunset. Both Ben and I didn't sleep well that night. We were both worried that we didn't have good service and couldn't keep an eye on the weather, wind, and waves, so we decided to leave the next morning, with a quick stop at Loggerhead Key.

Anchoring is prohibited at Loggerhead Key. There are no docks for boats to use. The only option is a mooring ball. This new experience was described to me rather quickly, with Ben telling me I had to use the boat hook to thread our line into the line from the mooring ball. My technical brain was trying to figure out how this all worked and I thought I could do it. I probably could've done it, if the mooring ball line was longer. We almost gave up and left. It took 3 (or more?) times for Ben to float up to the mooring ball before I could grab the line and secure it. Who am I kidding?! Ben had to do it himself once I got the rope on the boat hook. That was super stressful and nearly impossible.

Cartermaran on the mooring ball (white ball floating in front of the bow).

Ben, the kids, and I jumped into the tender (my parents stayed on the boat) and went to Loggerhead Key to quickly explore. Bear was THRILLED to see some sea turtle nests that had been roped off on the beach. We didn't see any turtles, but figured that's how the key got its name. (BTW- Loggerhead Turtles were named by boaters back in the day who, when they were looking out in front of them couldn't decide if what they saw was a log or a head... log-or-head... Loggerhead.) The lighthouse wasn't too far away, and being the only ones on the island, we were able to walk to it quickly, snap some photos, and get back to the tender. 

Sea turtle nest!

The fresh footprints are ours and were the first of the day.

Loggerhead Key Lighthouse in the early morning hours.

We boarded the boat for our cruise home, which lasted a bit longer than the way there. It took us 7.5 hours in 3-5 foot seas. Roo joined the seasick sailors team and Moose added another tally to his title. (And to think- I was worried about the boat experience before we went to the Dry Tortugas!)