FL, Dry Tortugas, Everglades and Biscyane NPs

Sunday, Feb 4

Travel day

Solo trip to Florida to visit three National Parks!

5:45am start to catch an 8:22am flight that was delayed an hour. Arrived Miami 1:00pm and drove the 2 hour 45 min drive through the Florida Keys to RamRod Key near Key West. The drive through the Keys was pretty cool but you have to be patient as it is a two lane highway with few pass opportunities. Had dinner at the Tiki Bar and Grill and checked into the Loof Key Reef "Resort". The room (although expensive) was bad, enough said.

Monday, Feb 5

Weather: 70, winds to 40 mph, seas 5 - 10ft

Drove to Key West to catch the Dry Tortugas Ferry. Due to a thunderstorm passing through we were delayed and almost canceled with high wind and high seas. The ferry ride was rough. Of the 73 on board I think about 30 got seasick. Thankfully, I took dramamine and felt fine..eyes focused on the horizon most of the trip. It was a long 2 1/2 hours.

Dry Tortugas National Park

About Dry Tortugas
"Explore a 19th Century Fort and Snorkel Crystal Clear Water with Incredible Marine Life
Almost 70 miles (113 km) west of Key West lies the remote Dry Tortugas National Park. This 100-square mile park is mostly open water with seven small islands. Accessible only by boat or seaplane, the park is known the world over as the home of magnificent Fort Jefferson, picturesque blue waters, superlative coral reefs and marine life, and the vast assortment of bird life that frequents the area."
You can learn more about the park here: Dry Tortugas National Park.

Fort Jefferson

About Fort Jefferson
"Fort Jefferson is a former U.S. military coastal fortress in the Dry Tortugas National Park of Florida. It is the largest brick masonry structure in the Americas,[2][3] covering 16 acres (6.5 ha) and made with over 16 million bricks.[4] Among United States forts, only Fort Monroe in Virginia and Fort Adams in Rhode Island are larger. The fort is located on Garden Key in the lower Florida Keys within the Dry Tortugas, 68 miles (109 km) west of the island of Key West.
Construction of Fort Jefferson (named after the third U.S. President, Thomas Jefferson) began on Garden Key in December 1846...
The seawall was finally completed in 1872 and six 15-inch (38 cm) Rodman guns were in place on barbette (third) tier.[5]: 126  The total number of large-caliber guns was 243. The guns were never fired."
You can learn more about the fort: Fort Jefferson Wiki.

Arriving at Dry Tortugas on the Garden Key Fort Jefferson was immediately impressive. After the rough boat ride it was nice to get on solid ground. I listened to the 20 minute ranger talk giving us the history of the fort and then spent most of my time exploring the massive fort on all three levels (arial view thanks to the Fort Jefferson Wiki).

A few videos of the Fort

Bush Key

After lunch back on the boat, I walked the narrow beach on Bush Key adjacent to Garden Key. This was the last day of the season the beach is open. After that they close it off to protect the turtles and their eggs. A beautiful spot and lots of sea shells. Some had arranged many of the nicest shells in groups and made for nice pictures.

At 2:45 it was back to the boat and the 2 1/2 hour boat ride back to Key West. Fortunately, the ride was smoother and nobody was seasick. From Key West I again traversed the Keys back to Key Largo then onto Homestead,FL where I am staying the next 3 nights. It was a long there and back to visit Dry Tortugas but it was worth it!

Tuesday, Feb 06

Weather mid 70s partly cloudy, still windy.

Everglades National Park

About Everglades National Park
"America's Everglades - The largest subtropical wilderness in the United States
Everglades National Park protects an unparalleled landscape that provides important habitat for numerous rare and endangered species like the manatee, American crocodile, and the elusive Florida panther."
You can learn more about the park here: Everglades National Park.

Anhinga and Gumbo Limbo Trails

Stopping at the visitor center I asked about trail conditions. Many of the trails are no longer maintained, overgrown and not very passable. Additionally, with all the rain most of the trails were far to muddy to hike except the small boardwalk and paved trails. I did a couple of short hikes in the Pineland area of the park. The Anhinga Trail is a boardwalk through swamps, ponds and sloughs. I saw Anhinga birds, swans and two alligators. Very Cool!

Southern Florida is very, very flat and much is only a 2 - 3 feet above sea level with miles and miles of ponds, swamps, sloughs, and seagrass. From the ground the seagrass looks like a grassy field but if you get close you will see its a vast swamp and from the air it just looks like water. In fields of seagrass you will see small areas where taller bushes and trees look like little islands in the seagrass. This is usually where the water is a little deeper than the rest of the samp and they call them alligator holes.

Gumbo Limbo Trail is just next to the Anhinga trail. It is only a few feet higher in elevation but it is a tropical rain forest, not a swamp, with lots of gumbo trees and mangroves. Another nice short hike.

Flamingo Visitor Center

After the two short hikes I drove the main park road 38 miles down to the coast stopping at a few turnouts and a few trail heads (all very muddy). At the coast was the Flamingo Visitor Center. I took a few pictures but had to get back up close to the park entrance to catch my missile base tour on time.

HM69 Nike Missile Base

About HM69 Nike Missile Base
"A Relic of the Cold War
The site remains virtually the same as it was when official use of the site ended in 1979. Construction of the site by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was completed in 1965, just after the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. At the time, the nation's air defenses were positioned to protect against a possible Soviet air attack over the North Pole and thus, this and other anti-aircraft missile sites were established to protect against a possible air attack from the south. The Nike Hercules missile site was listed on the U.S. Department of the Interior Register of Historic Places on July 27, 2004 as a Historic District. The area includes 3 missile barns, a missile assembly building, a guard dog kennel, barracks, 2 Nike Hercules missiles, and various support elements."
You can learn more about the site here: HM69 Nike Missile Base.

The tour was led by a retired army tank commander who gave a great tour. He told us about the history of the site being developed after the Cuban missile crises to defend our southern flank. When operational it was a highly secured nuclear site with a perimeter of two barbed wire topped fences with guards and dogs patrolling the perimeter 24/7. As we walked the grounds he told us about the various buildings and what life was like on the base (pretty miserable with high heat, humidity and mosquitoes).

The final stop was a warehouse with a couple of the missiles. The shiny one was restored by a local high schools senior project. The missile was designed for surface to air and surface to surface. It could be armed with conventional or nuclear warheads ranging from 5 - 20 kilotons. Deployment from warehouse to firing took 5 minutes. It was a two stage rocket with both stages burning for only three seconds each accelerating the missile to 3000 mph and an altitude of 100,000 ft. The idea behind the nuclear capability was to intercept a squadron of bombers and with one detonation destroy the entire squadron. Fortunately, it was a major deterrent and never had to be used.

On our way back to the cars I had the chance to talk to the tank commander and he shared some stories about his time in the army. Fortunate for him, in his 20 year career did not see battle. Thank you for your service.

Wednesday Feb 07

Weather mid 70s, not a windy, sunny skies, perfect.

Biscayne National Park

About Biscayne National Park
"A Watery Wonderland"
Within sight of Miami, yet worlds away, Biscayne protects a rare combination of aquamarine waters, emerald islands, and fish-bejeweled coral reefs. Evidence of 10,000 years of human history is here too; from prehistoric tribes to shipwrecks, and pineapple farmers to presidents. For many, the park is a boating, fishing, and diving destination, while others enjoy a warm breeze and peaceful scenery."
You can learn more about the park here: Biscayne National Park.

Visitor Center

I took a 3 1/2 hour (28 mile) tour on a 15 passenger boat. From the visitor center (in Homestead) we went out to Cutter Bank just north of Key Largo. There the naturalist talked about the history of the northern Keys. From there we went north past Totten Key, Adams Key, the 8 mile long Elliot Key, Sands Key and arrived at Boca Chita Key.

Boca Chita Key

Boca Chita Key is an awesome small island with a few developed buildings and a non-functional light house built by Mark Honeywell, a wealthy industrialist, and his wife from 1937 to 1940. Strangely, they built a four car garage (the island is tiny and no roads!). He stored some of his car collection there as an amusement to all the guests he invited to the island for parties. You can learn more about Boca Chita here: Boca Chita Key.

We had an hour and fifteen to explore the island and relax. A great spot for lunch (which I didn't bring). On the boat ride back to the Visitor Center the captains sharp eye spotted 3 dolphins (2 adults and a pup) and we slowed and followed them for a time. Very cool! Unfortunately, impossible to get a picture or video of them. As we approached the visitor center we spotted several iguanas (an invasive species not native to Florida) a Blue Heron and an Anhinga bird in the mangroves.

After the tour I spent some time at the visitor center and took a short walk out the jetty where we had spotted the iguanas. I looked close to spot them but didn't.

Biscayne NP also offers canoeing, kayaking and snorkeling but, since I was solo I decided to just do the boat tour. Still another great day in a National Park!

Thursday, Feb 08

Weathermid 70s, partly cloudy, light breeze, perfect

Travel day

I had time before my 4:47 flight and hung out at a really nice park before heading to the airport.

Butterfly Park

Flight was on time and Kathryn picked me up at O'hare.
Home Sweet Home.

Summary

Weather: Nice except for storms and high winds on Monday.
Dry Tortugas NP: Better than my expectation but a long journey to get there. Jefferson Fort was really cool.
Homestead: I stayed near downtown and it was quite dumpy and lots of sirens. However, on the last day I was in the suburbs which were a lot nicer but I noticed lots of gated communities.
Everglades NP: A cool place with Alligators, Anhinga birds and other wildlife. Not a hiking destination.
Biscayne NP: Nice. 95% water. Fun boat tour and the far north Boca Chita Key is a great destination.
Florida Keys: Just drove through on Highway 1 so not much to say. Key West is super expensive.
A good trip!