The Florida Keys

Spent 2 weeks of January in the Florida Keys and the weather was great! Didn't see a drop of rain until the day I left and if it wasn't for windy conditions on a few days, it would have been perfect. Temps were in the 80's most days and Ronna took 10 days of vacation time to fly down and escape the winter weather up north.

We stayed at Riptide RV Park on Key Largo, one of the Carefree chain. This was my first time staying a Carefree Park, although I have driven through a few others, and I wasn't impressed by any of them. But this is the Florida Keys in January and finding any campsite can be a challenge. Every RV Park I saw was just as sardine packed as ours. Sure, there is some state park camping on the Keys but getting one of those sites is like winning the lottery. Still, we were close to the water and there was a nice place to sit and watch the sunsets.

The nice part of the campground. We were camped less than 100 feet away!

The not so nice part. Crammed in like sardines. 

Sunset at the campground

Campground company. Photo by Ronna

We decided to have our breakfasts and dinners at the camper and eat lunch out most days. By adjusting our lunch time to around 2 PM we were able to eat at dockside restaurants every day without waiting for a table. This time of year the Keys are a crowded place. Too many people in paradise if you ask me and way too commercialized. We stopped at the local grocery store a few times and every time it was like a Saturday afternoon in a major metropolitan area. Of course US 1, the 157 mile stretch named Overseas Highway, is the only through road between Key Largo and Key West and should there be an accident it really can clog things up.

Fresh fish every day! We had Grouper, Yellow Tail Snapper, Mahi-Mahi, shrimp, scallops, lobster and conch. Of course we had to have Key Lime pie for desert most days and by the end of Ronna’s stay we were both ready for a cheeseburger and hot fudge Sunday.

On one day we visited a wounded bird sanctuary; a small but interesting place with a variety of hawks, owls and other Florida birds that can no longer live in the wild. But wild pelicans were everywhere. These aren't wounded birds that are kept in cages; these just fly in for the free pickings. It was a bit unnerving trying to get past these large birds on the narrow walkways but mostly we didn't have any problems. I did see one person get a too close with his camera and the pelican got a bit aggressive with him; charging and snapping his beak.

White Egret. Photo by Ronna

Pelicans everywhere!

More pelicans...

And still more!

White Egret 

A visit to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park was a day well spent. We had planned on doing some snorkeling or a glass bottom boat tour of the reef which is several miles off shore. But the high winds and seas had these tours cancelled. At 69 degrees the water may have been a bit cold for snorkeling anyway. This is an under water park, encompassing about 70 square miles and featuring the only living coral reef in the continental United States. Besides snorkeling and the glass bottom boat there are scuba tours, scuba / snorkel equipment rentals along with canoe, paddle boat, kayak and power boat rentals. The visitor’s center has a beautiful 30,000 gallon salt water tank as well as many other smaller tanks so we were still able to view these beautiful reef fish. The park does have camping and a beach as well.

Visitor's Center

Beach

Shot this in the old lime, avocado, mango orchard. I think few people who come to the park visit here.

While I've been to Key West many years ago Ronna has never been so we planned a trip to visit. There is a ferry there that will take you out to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas (named so because there is no fresh water to be found there). The ferry leaves Key West at 8AM but you have to be on board by 7:30AM, and since it’s a 2-2 ½ hour drive from Key Largo we decided it would be best to go a day early and spend the night before boarding.

It was a scenic drive down the Overseas Highway with its 7 mile bridge and getting to Key West a day early allowed us time to take the trolley tour. Of course there was time for another dockside lunch and dinner in the Historic Seaport District, as well as a bit of souvenir shopping. The trolley was a great way to see most of the key and learn a bit about its history and architecture.

More on Key West here:

http://www.keyshistory.org/keywest.html

The sunset we enjoyed while having dinner in Key West. Photo by Ronna

The trip out to Fort Jefferson takes about 2 hours but a continental breakfast is served and there is always coffee and water on hand. The weather was still blowing 25-30 knots with 6-7 foot seas but the 100 foot catamaran hulled power boat wasn’t going to stay tied up at the dock. They were advising everyone to take Dramamine and even selling the stuff for those who didn’t think ahead. Actually we thought the ride wasn’t all that bad. I’ve seen much worse sailing upwind in the Caribbean and only a few people ended up feeding the fish.

It was a beautiful 75 degree day, very sunny but breezy. The skies were deep blue with white clouds and the water a vibrant turquoise; a great day to tour this historic, moat surrounded fort. The boat was kept open all the while we were there and served a cold lunch during the afternoon. The bar opened at 2:30PM and the snack bar stayed open until docking back in Key West.

Construction of Fort Jefferson, on Garden Key, one of the seven isles that make up the Dry Tortugas, was started in 1846 and went on for 30 years without ever being completely finished. It’s the nation’s largest 1800’s masonry fort and served as a Union military prison for captured deserters as well as for 4 men convicted of complicity in Lincoln’s assassination. Dr. Mudd was housed here, probably the most famous prisoner. Mudd was pardoned because of the medical work he performed here when, in 1867, an outbreak of yellow fever took many lives, including those of the resident physician and his family. The Army abandoned the fort in 1874 and it was proclaimed a wildlife refuge in 1908. Finally in 1992 it was re-designated at Dry Tortugas National Park. You can actually tent camp here but have to haul in all your food, water and be totally self-sufficient. The only way to get here is by private boat, the ferry or float plane.

Entrance to fort. Note bridge over moat 

Inside the powder room that once was 3 floors

Parade grounds with hot shot furnace in foreground 

View through gun port

Detail of hot shot furnace. Used to heat cannon balls that would set ships ablaze

Wall and moat

Gun mount locations along wall

View from top of wall

Another view from top of wall with powder room in far background

Garden Key Light built in 1876 but no longer in service

Ferry

Ronna poses holding imaginary bars in Mudd's cell

There is great snorkeling / scuba here as well with green and loggerhead turtles and ship wrecks to see. The ferry supplies snorkeling gear for no charge but the wind had the waters pretty stirred up in the designated snorkeling areas and visibility was poor. Still, the fort is very interesting and there is a wide variety of sea birds to enjoy.

Magnificent Frigatebird (female)

Black Skimmer and Royal Tern

Black Skimmers on seawall

Hermit crabs are everywhere on the key

No one is sure how, but a saltwater crocodile has taken up residence in the most around the fort. Best guess by the Park Rangers is that he was blown in by a storm. He’s been there for a few years now and every so often he is tranquilized and given a physical. We were lucky enough to get a glimpse of him.  

You can read much more about the park here:

http://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm

We were back at the dock in Key West by 5PM and back at the camper before 8PM. We had a great trip but I think I can check the Florida Keys off the bucket list; unless we want to return for some snorkeling.