05-12-2025, Florida Key West Trip 3/27 – 6/30 2025, 96 Days, 7986 Miles, 44 Stops

Monday, June 16, 2025

05-12-2025, Florida Key West Trip 3/27 – 6/30 2025, 96 Days, 7986 Miles, 44 Stops

12 May 2025, Boyd's Key West Campground, Key West, Florida

Jeeps-12

We were up before the roosters today. Today, the four of us visited Dry Tortugas National Park by boat, and we had to board the ship between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. It is a three-and-a-half-hour ride, seventy miles off the coast of Key West. Our ship, the Yankee Freedom III, served us breakfast and lunch. At 1:45, the bar opened. They also provide snorkeling gear.

Jan and I took Dramamine, just in case we would get nauseous. We were OK on the trip there and back. Once we arrived and disembarked the ship, we went inside the fort to wait for Ben, our tour guide. He gave us a twenty-minute introduction about the place, which was very informative. He also did an hour tour, but we decided to go independently.

We followed the National Park signs around the fort. We walked all three levels. I cannot imagine living on the island so far from everything. When the fort was active, it had 100 cannons that protected Key West, especially during the Civil War. I was amazed by the history of the Civil War and the Dry Tortugas. I want to learn more about it.

Barry and I hurried over to the ship to get our lunch. We wanted to eat and have enough time to snorkel, but it started raining, and the rain was coming down hard. We did not let that stop us. We tried to cover our stuff with our towels, but everything got soaked. We still walked over to one of the beaches recommended for snorkeling. We put our gear on and swam out. It was pouring. Unfortunately, we didn't see any fish! It was very disappointing. We came all this way and saw nothing—darn weather! Maybe someday we will be back. You can camp too, which would be a lot of fun.

We gathered our soggy packs and towels and went to the dock where the changing rooms were. We bought t-shirts in the gift shop earlier; luckily, they were still somewhat dry. I had shorts to change into, and they were only half-damp. We came all this way and would not let some wet clothes ruin our day. Once changed and a little dry, we returned to the ship, got a margarita, and stood at the boat's bow so the warm wind would dry us before we cast off.

Once back on the ship, I asked Ben where the cemetery was since I had not seen one. He said it is located on another key (island) nearby, but it is now underwater. There are about 60 people buried there. He is very knowledgeable about the Dry Tortugas and has researched the area using the National Archives, where he found schematics of the plumbing system. I told him he needed to write a book on everything he found in the archives. His dream is to go to the National Archives to see the actual schematics and everything else they have. I think that is so cool.

The ride back was uneventful. Jan and I played one game of Yahtzee on her phone, and I won. I could not believe it. I did a little reading, and before we knew it, we were back in Key West. What a great day!

We did laundry when we returned since everything was soaked and full of sand.

If you ever get a chance to make a trip to Dry Tortugas, I highly recommend it. I would recommend taking the boat since it provides breakfast, lunch, and air conditioning, plus you get four hours on the island. It was around $250.00 apiece. If you travel by seaplane, you can only spend about two and a half hours in the park, and the cost is approximately $500.00 per adult. You won't regret making this trip.

I know I've added a lot of photos, but I really wanted to show how cool this place is.