Trip Date: February 2017
This was one of three parks in Florida I visited before Chelsea’s bachelorette party. My trip began with a VERY long road trip. I drove from Baltimore to Savannah and visited with Jaime in Savannah GA. It was the perfect stop over. I then continued my drive down to Key West, FL. The drive in total was 20 hours! The last hour of driving though was great, sea salt in the air and warmer temperatures got me excited for my destination.
I learned that there are roosters everywhere in Key West! Perhaps they have solved the mystery of why they cross the road…
I walked all around this town, and saw some VERY eccentric people. It was a good time. I had to walk on over to the Sunset pier to see what everyone was so excited about! It did not disappoint. A few of my favorite sunset pictures ever are from this pier.
All those sunset cruises and sailboats made for some good pictures! I was camping out on Dry Tortugas so I arrived bright and early the next morning to the dock to catch my ride. The trip out was a little over two hours. All the campers got there early to load their stuff up and stayed a little late to listen to the safety brief. Here was my first view of the island from far off.
First order of business once I got onto the island was to set up my tent! There is a pretty small area for camping, only about 10-15 sites. Makes for a cozy evening once the boat is gone!
Next step was to get in the water and start snorkeling! This was my first time and I had asked a ton of people for advice about snorkeling. I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to keep the mouthpiece in without gagging, or that I wouldn’t be buoyant enough and I would exhaust myself swimming. None of those fears materialized, it was perfect! I pulled out my underwater camera and off I went!
Once I had my fill for the afternoon of snorkeling, I got out and changed. By that time the boat was ready to head back for the day which meant I could explore the fort without as many people around. Here are some cool pictures I got.
I will apologize to any history buffs – because of my excitement over snorkeling I didn’t hear a single educational thing about this fort. Wikipedia will be more insightful than I am. It was fun to explore though! I liked photographing the pelicans that flew around.
There are also a lot of birds that nest on the key that is connected here for a good portion of the year. They are pretty loud, and EVERYWHERE. 
Another highlight was watching the sea planes take off. It never got old.
The second day there I went snorkeling again while the boat crowd explored the fort. I was minding my own business when I got hit in the back of the head! Startled I pulled my head out of the water and this guy was looking at my with a SASSY expression!
Dive bombed by a pelican. I guess I was too close to his lunch! I did learn that pelicans have air pockets around their brains, which is what allows them to dive bomb like this without brain damage. I think this ones air pocket must have deflated….All the tourists watching from the moat were concerned for my safety 🙂
I can’t talk about Dry Tortugas without mentioning the resident crocodile! He just chills in the moat. The only thing he has ever been caught eating was a pelican. Everyone else seemed fine with him hanging out so I just went with it.
Between watching the sun set, snorkeling, and exploring the fort this trip was packed full! I want to come back and spend a few days here and explore everything. If you can spend a night or three without running water I definitely recommend camping! There is too much to see in the few hours the boat is here.
Kelsey's Climb to 59 (+4) 