Dry Tortugas/Everglades |
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Grad school has been out for a week now and I'm getting ansy. Taking classes like Research and Curriculum and Instruction will do that to you. About all I accomplished was learning how to make a researcher cry because his/her results are unfounded. I can't imagine I'll ever use the line, "Your data is garbage because you didn't use ANCOVA (analysis of covariance). What were you thinking?"
With that said, I was ready to head down to the Keys and over to the Dry Tortugas and
my last Florida National Park stamp. I left early Monday at 5:30 to beat both the traffic
and the heat. Within two and one-half hours I was on US 41 heading toward Big Cypress and
the Everglades. You start to get a feel for the vastness of the park, the encroachment of
man, and the damage
done, inadvertently, by the Army Corp of Engineers on this road. On Hwy. 29, which is just
north of 41 by Everglades City, you travel through a corridor of high fencing, put there
to keep the panthers off the roads.
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Just for the heck of it, I pulled into the Shark Valley Visitor's Center (Everglades) to see if their stamp was different than the one I had from Everglades City. It was! I was on to something here. In Homestead I stopped at the Ernest F. Coe Visitor's Center and theirs was different also. The damage from Hurricane Andrew is starting to fade. Within the park there are two more centers that I'll hit on the way home. It was time to join the madness that is Highway 1 in the Keys. |
If you're planning on taking anything other than a motorcycle on this road, make an appointment with a reputable psychiatrist or rent out storage space for that part of your cranium that is going unused. Without the acceleration we all cherish, the 100+ miles on this mostly two lane road will make you weep like a baby. To complicate matters, the road is HEAVILY patrolled, so choose your passes wisely. I'm not even going to talk about the motor homes.
I had planned to spend a couple of nights at Knight's Key Campground (can you spend
days there?). This is where the Gator Rally is held and sits just north of the Seven Mile
Bridge. At the check-in I was told the cost for two nights, not on the water, no
electricity or water, would be just under $70.00!!!! Uh, do I get room service with that?
This is outrageous. It turns out that
Wednesday is the beginning of Lobster Season so they are gouging everyone. Of course they
wouldn't admit it. I was tired and hot so I gave in for one nigh. I'd do something else
tomorrow.
It was good that I stopped when I did, because I was, unknowingly (that's how it works), experiencing some big time heat stress. One of the reasons you rarely see a temperature over 100 in Florida is because the high humidity levels prevent it. So, it's in the upper 90s with a humidity level that's almost the same. I should have been drinking more fluids. I had to get cooled off.
After a shower, hiding out at K-Mart (air-conditioned), the local library (air-conditioned) and the movie where I saw Armageddon (air-conditioned), the sun had gone down along with my temperatures. I'd be more careful. Now to climb into my tent, hereafter referred to as "The Hole." I've camped in Death Valley in the summer when it was 116, but I've never been this hot. I wouldn't need velcro to stick to anything.
| In the morning, I had a flight over to the Dry Tortugas at 8:00 A.M. It was less than 1 hour to the airport in Key West and traffic was light. The sun was starting to rise and the views over the water are fabulous. I was pumped for the flight having never been on a plane smaller than a commercial jet. The fact that this was a seaplane made it all the better. |
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Seaplanes of Key West provides flights to the Dry Tortugas for $159. The price includes a cooler full of drinks and snorkeling gear. While this is rather pricey, it takes a lot less time than the boats that make the run and provides for better views. Besides, it's more of an adventure. |
| One thing surprised me immediately. The plane takes off from a normal
runway. A set of wheels protrudes from the bottom of the pontoons. This whole setup makes
for a very tall aircraft. Once we were in the air, we flew over the southern shore of Key
West, several shipwrecks, the Marquesses (which were formed by a meteor impact) and made a
nice pass of the fort on the Dry Tortugas before the sea landing. It was amazing how
smooth the landing was and how loud the interior of the plane was. Take earplugs if your
going. |
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We would be on the island for 2 1/2 hours. The Dry Tortugas was first named Las Tortugas , the Turtles, by Ponce de Leon, because of the abundance of sea turtles in the area. The name was changed to the Dry Tortugas, because there is no source of fresh water on the islands. In 1846 the U. S. began construction of a fort to protect the shipping lanes. Some of the cannon that were used could fire a ball 3 miles from the fort. Some cannon balls were heated red-hot before they were fired. |
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The fort was never completely finished, but became a prison in the Civil War for Union deserters. The park now is comprised of 100 square miles and several small islands, with the fort being the predominant feature. It's a major nesting area for Sooty Terns and sea turtles.
Within 1 hour, you can wander completely around the fort, watch the video and talk to
the rangers. If you've see Fort Pulaski in Savannah, you've seen this fort. After the tour
I snorkeled for a little over an hour. The pilings and walls of the fort provide a great
habitat for sea life. I don't know what it is about me and barracudas, but every time I go
snorkeling in the Keys, I see
one or more of these guys. The way they smile at you, like they know something you don't,
is very disturbing. I know they're thinking, "Wait until I tell the other barracudas
about the size of the guy I just bit."
It turns out that this was the perfect amount of time to visit the island. If I would have thought ahead, I would have camped on the island the previous night. Camping is $3.00, but you have to bring in all supplies, including water.
The plane had to work hard to get out of the water, but before you knew it, we were airborne. On the way back, since the sun was higher in the sky, we were able to get a good view of the sea life. We passed over several pods of dolphins and a few sharks. I was hoping to see some stingrays, which are common to the area. In about 1/2 hour we were landing. Man, that was a blast. Can I go again? It's hard to believe, though, that the pilot does this day in and day out. Once you get out into the gulf and can see nothing but water in every direction, things get somewhat boring.
I hopped back on the bike and headed out of the Keys. The traffic heading south (west) was INCREDIBLE! Lobster season is a big deal. I was wondering why everyone kept asking me if I had my "tickler" which is used to coax the lobsters out of their hiding place. That guy who asked my about the french tickler was just way out of line.
Back in Florida City, I took the long ride to the Flamingo City Visitor Center. From the park entrance, it's 39 miles to the center, so I checked to see if the center was open before I made the ride. When it comes to national park stamps there are two types of people: those who understand and those that don't. You would think that every ranger would understand, but that's far from the case. Many look at you like you're speaking in tongues. The ranger at Homestead was like that. When I called the Flamingo Visitor's Center the ranger told me it's closed this time of year. I explained that I was looking for a passport stamp and he told me to just knock on the door when I got down there. He understands!
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If you really want to see the Everglades, you must go down this road. This is the heart of the glades and surprises most people. For some reason, maybe it's due to Hollywood, people expect the glades to look more like the swamps in Louisiana. In reality, they look more like grassy plains that stretch to the horizon with pine hammocks dotting the landscape. |
The area around the Flamingo Visitor's Center is fantastic. From the deck of the center you can look out across Florida Bay and the Ten Thousand Islands. Some of the islands have camping and can be reached by kayak. This is the wrong time of year to be doing that though. The mosquitos are fierce. I had to hold the bike down for risk of it being carried off. I lost five pounds in blood alone getting my passport stamped. When de Leon and Desoto talked about the great flocks of birds they saw in the area, I believe they were really referring to the flocks of mosquitos. On the way out of the park I got the Royal Palm stamp and headed again across U.S. 41. I'm close enough to home to just beat it up the highway to Tampa. So, there are five different stamps in the Everglades. My whole trip was just under 1000 miles for two days. I'd like to list all the memorable events of the trip, but the heat melted my brain. |
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