One of My Favorites

My family and I took two vacations that stand out above all of the others. The best we ever had was our two-week trip to Yellowstone National Park. But our second favorite was a long excursion in our travel trailer down the length of Florida for about an eight-day exploration of the Florida Keys.

And the most fun of any single day was our trip out to the Dry Tortugas National Park many miles off the coast of Key West. The Dry Tortugas NP is one of the least visited of our National Parks. It consists mainly of water and reefs with only a few islands where you can walk around. But the main reason it is so lightly visited is that you can only get there via boat or floatplane. Being working class folk, we chose the less expensive method of getting there by taking a fast catamaran from Key West to Fort Jefferson on the main island.

I didn't really tell Carole and Andy what to expect, only that they would love the trip and that they would see something they'd enjoy immensely. So I stopped at the office and bought three tickets for the catamaran trip out to the Tortugas. As I recall, they ran $70 each, but this included a very nice lunch that was served on the big catamaran.

Carole and Andy thought that they were in for a boring day out to see yet another fort out in the middle of nowhere. Neither of them was very happy as we waited on the waterfront in Key West very early in the morning to board the ship.

But once we got there they were amazed. As with most people, they did not realize that you needn't leave the States to see thriving coral reefs. The main island where one disembarks is surrounded by one of the finest living reef environments in the USA. The ocean is crystal clear and thriving with life. We spent most of the day swimming, snorkeling, and walking around the island (the pre-Civil War fort occupies almost all of the dry land), and bird-watching. When it was time to go they were sad to leave.

Following here are a number of photos I took, most of which I think I have never posted online. This was back in the days before underwater digital cameras. So what I did was stop at a shop where I bought an disposable underwater film camera. Surprisingly, it took fairly good images. Not the best quality, but better than I had expected before I snorkeled out into the ocean, eventually swimming out about 1/3 of a mile before turning back.

I swam through a number of schools of these small fry. It was fun.

This was a section of brick wall that had tumbled off of the fort no telling how long ago. Long since coated in coral accretions.

Another curious fish. Note the coral-covered bricks behind him.

This is the critter that made me turn around and swim back to the island. It's a Nurse shark. I knew at the time it was a Nurse shark and that it was basically harmless, but just the idea of being in the water with fish that big scared me. So I chickened out and went back to Fort Jefferson. This fish was six-feet long, but he was actually afraid of me. I got the impression it was trying to bury its head in that outcropping of coral in an attempt to hide from me.

First Up: Florida.

I don't mind admitting that Carole and I vacation fairly often in Florida. Now, it's a popular vacation destination for good and bad reasons. We tend to stay away from what a lot of people consider the worst of what makes the state so popular with people from around the country. In fact, I often find myself having to defend the state's offerings as a worthy destination. The main reason for this is that so much of what are considered traditional reasons for visiting the state are pretty lurid and ghastly.

But Carole and I don't hit the places normally associated with Florida. The single exception might be Key West. We like Key West and got a real kick out of spending time in the town and walking around its streets and eating in the restaurants there. But that's an anomaly. We tend to steer well clear of the spots that attract truly vast crowds and which offer busy beaches and artificial amusement parks. No, thanks.

The spots we like to see in Florida are quite different and generally not as crowded as places like Disney World and Daytona Beach and Miami and other such spots. We tend to gravitate to rural and wild areas. And you would be surprised how much of Florida is rural, and how much of it is bonafide wilderness. (Clue: lots and lots and lots of it.)

Generally, we seek out campgrounds in state parks and in National Forests. These are usually not crowded. But even when they are crowded, they remain relatively quiet and well run. We also tend to exert ourselves in outdoor activities such as hiking and kayaking, swimming, and snorkeling. You'll most often find us miles away from roads scoping out birds and wild critters, or drifting on crystal clear water on rivers of purest blue.

This is why we like Florida. We've never been menaced by muggers or criminals because such folk aren't generally found out in the wilds. We don't have to worry over traffic and looming accidents because almost nobody visits the springs and rivers and paths that are locked away deep in moss-draped forests.

Yeah, there are the bugs. Go in the cooler months and they're not that bad. Indeed, there are snakes and alligators. Just be careful and they're part of the scenery. As for the heat and humidity...remember what I said about the cooler months. We like to go in the Spring when the sun makes it warm enough to go swimming, but not so hot that we swelter.

So, be like us: enjoy Florida for all the right reasons. And so, in April we'll be headed to northern Florida to kayak the Suwanee River and snorkel in some big freshwater springs. And hopefully see some wild critters and cook some good food!

The sparkling springs of Ecofina Creek.

Moss-draped beauty.

A nice state-sponsored ride across the sound to a deserted island!

Ghost towns!

We like beaches. Especially when we have miles of them to ourselves!

Not just history...Pre-Colombian history!

Dry Tortugas National Park. One of the least visited, but one of the most gorgeous.

Manatee Springs.

Plenty of hiking opportunities in Florida.

Ever gone swimming through an underwater tunnel? I have!

Where's Tarzan?!

Delving into the jungle.

The ever-present Great blue heron!

My pals!

Again, I ask: Where is Tarzan?!

Limestone and pure water.

Carole is the best camp cook in the world!

Preparations.

Before we go on long trips with our truck/travel trailer rig, we prepare carefully for it. We always spend a lot of money on vehicle maintenance which is a pain, but better than facing engine trouble out in the middle of nowhere. Carole spends literally months hoarding and packing things we will need on the trip; everything from clothing to cooking utensils to toothpaste, foods, and a thousand items that never fail to surprise me along the way.

This time we're even hauling some things such as extra tanks of propane, and we picked up a genuine jerrycan for gasoline. You never know if you're going to run out of gas on some of those long stretches of highway. This last item is something that we have thought about for a long time--ever since we came very close to running completely out of gas in the wilds of Missouri one year.

This will be the longest trip we have ever taken with the travel trailer. To date, the longest trip we've had to haul the Casita was the round-trip to Key West and back. Even though we only journeyed through four states, the drive is far longer than one would think. This trip we'll log roughly 5,000 miles. Yow!

So, we're bearing down on the final preparations. Most of the stuff is ready. Just a few details to take care of, and then it's off!

The Long Drive

The longest drive we ever took with the Casita travel trailer was a vacation to the Florida Keys. Yeah, I know...it's on the east coast. We stayed in the south. But great Jove it was a long, honking drive! It took two days to get there, driving as I did around 60-65 mph the whole way.

We enjoy the Keys. It was enough like the Caribbean to make it different from the rest of the southern coastlands. I always figured that by now we'd have made a return trip because we had such a great time there. But we just never have gone back. Maybe some day.

View from an elevated overlook on Bahia Honda, where we stayed.

Andy on the big kapok tree.

Hemingway's house.

The Dry Tortugas National Park.

Sun and the Seven-Mile Bridge.

Lighthouse on the fort at the Dry Tortugas.

Tiny little Key Deer on Big Pine Key.

At the sea turtle rescue center.

Question and Answer

Wife: What are you doing with the camera?

Husband: Nothin'.

Wife: Are you taking a picture of that girl?

Husband: What??!! What girl? No! What makes you say that?




Later, in the Keys.

Wife: What are you dong with that camera??!!

Husband: Nothin'!




Later that same year, in Maine:

Wife: Are you getting a good photo of that building?

Husband: Yes.



Looking forward to this one: