#dry tortugas

[emilybeemartin]

Inktober Days 10-12

Day 10: "Fortune"

On the farthest-flung spit of the Florida Keys are a handful of islands bearing the second-oldest surviving European name in the US, recorded by Ponce de León for the abundance of sea turtles and the lack of fresh water (Florida’s name is considered the oldest). Shallow straits create a ship trap that has claimed hundreds of vessels from the age of sail, including loaded Spanish treasure galleons. Old lighthouses stand as memories to the effort to guide ships through lucrative but risky channels. Rising from Garden Key is a hexagonal fortress—Fort Jefferson, the largest all-brick fort in the US, which housed Union prisoners during the Civil War. Under the turquoise water are some of the most intact coral reefs in the continental US. The water teems with sea life, and in addition to several year-round seabird species, the islands serve as stopovers for migrating birds. It’s a treasure trove lousy with natural and historical abundance. A vast fortune of biodiversity and human history.

This message is not brought to you by Visit Dry Tortugas LLC—it’s brought to you by a too-romantic ranger who’s a sucker for lonely maritime outposts and would desperately like to visit this unusual little member of the National Park Service.

Day 11: "Wander"

Some parks more than others seem to invite visitors to wander. It’s the twists of a path, dipping in and out of the rises in a landscape. It’s the light filtering through dark forests, promising something new beyond the branches. It’s the shoulders of a massive mountain standing like a beacon, or its invisible summit covered in clouds. Mount Rainier, like so many other protected places, seems to beckon—come. Explore. Take it in.

But stay on the path—alpine habitats are fragile.

Day 12: "Spicy"

Olympic was the first park I fell in love with, and it was a twenty-year long-distance relationship. A National Geographic article I read in high school painted a picture of verdant rainforests dripping with moss, wild windy coastlines, and high snowy peaks. I desperately wanted to see these places myself, stand under the towering cedars and breathe in their spicy scent. My desire to visit was so strong that the summers I worked in Glacier and Yellowstone, I would constantly plot the drive west, hoping the travel time would somehow get shorter. It was eleven hours. I could do that in a long weekend, couldn’t I? Take one of my precious few days off and just blitz to the coast?

The plans never worked out, which is probably for the best. Instead, after two years of Covid-cancelled plans, my husband and I decided to make the trip together from the east coast. It was infinitely better than a snatched day and a half all alone. For a week, we explored the glaciated mountains, rocky beaches, and primordial rainforests. After two-thirds of my life spent pining after this park, it was everything I’d dreamed it would be and more.

[nietzsches-big-naturals]

Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, USA

Summer 2024

[circuitmouse]

[dakotapuma]

While we know we cannot save every coral; we are focusing on individual corals that represent unique genetic lines that are thought only to exist in certain National Parks. —Ilsa Kuffner, a USGS research marine biologist

[zairacarrerabg]

Bunny disfrutando su tarde

[kramlabs]

[palmstopines]

How amazing is Dry Tortugas National Park?! One of my favorites

[lensandpenpress]

Clipper ship Berlin, north from the Dry Tortugas

A brick lighthouse replaced the original in 1858 – about the time Hogan was making land claims in the Ozarks. The Dry Tortugas lighthouse, along with the Garden Key lighthouse at Fort Jefferson, were the only lights on the Gulf coast that stayed in full operation throughout the American Civil War. It was decommissioned in December 2015. Having passed Key West, the next landmark was the Tortugas.…

[simply-irritable]

Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas National Park

[paraparaparadigm]

[musingsofadragon]

(via Fort Jefferson)

Pictures taken in the Dry Tortugas Circa 2021

[xinerose]

My real life sample of Triangle of Sadness. Part 2

In a real life sample of Triangle of Sadness, my mother and I tackle Miami, 'gaters, and a deserted island 120 miles off the Florida keys.

RECAP of the last blog: It’s late April, I know something is up. I know my friend is behaving strangely, and my subconscious knows chunks are about to fly. That’s why I don’t write, and that’s why I have to catch you up on the missing weeks. (Jesus H & M Christ, how is already June?) So May 3rd has arrived. My mother picks me up from my home to start the two hour journey to the airport for…

[takenoteornot]

Garden Key, Ft. Jefferson, Dry Tortugas NP

May 10, 2023

[zairacarrerabg]

Bunny disfrutando su tarde

[kramlabs]

This tarpon broke me off along with 3 bonefish. At least I landed an aquarium fish: