Fort Jefferson

Seaplane off loading day trippers
Dusk from the top of the fort
Munitions magazine
Long way from home
Top view
Some of the thousands of arches
The fort lighthouse
Fort Entrance-notice the granite
One of the Bastions
Old foundations
One of several large cacti
Looking out to Bush Key
Shoal water
Bastion stairway
Camper's beach
This is one of our favorite places. We didn't stay as long as we would have liked, but any
time there is worth it. If you are ever in the Key West area, a trip out by either seaplane
or the cat is well worth it. The fort is a blend. There are examples of tremendous feats
of engineering, master masonry and government boondogglery. It is the second largest brick
structure in the western hemisphere according to park literature. They say what is the
largest, not wanting to tout the competition, I suppose. It was the first structure built
by the Army Corp of Engineers using Underwater foundation construction techniques. There
are over 16,000,000 bricks, mostly from Pensacola. There is no fresh water supply (there's
a reason they are the DRY Tortugas) and it is a long way from reliable supplies. However,
the fort was obsolete before it was half finished so it was never fully completed or armed.
It has been used as a coaling station, prison and now National Park. The entire park is
a naturalist's dream come true. It is the nesting ground of several rare birds and breeding
ground of numerous aquatic animals and some of the last pristine reefs left in the U.S.
A large amount of the park is off limits to anything but day trips and some parts are off
limits entirely during breeding seasons. Besides the exploring the fort, there are many
wrecks, coral heads and other spots along the moat walls that are easy to snorkel.

We met several great people on other boats. Meeting other adventurers is a huge part of the
fun of cruising. We met Gary and Kathe from a big, red boat. They hail from Albuquerque,
New Mexico and cruise on a 55 foot steel home-built boat. They gave us a tour and made
Sanctuary seem very, very small. Another group was a trio of guys out for a last hurrah
before the hot, hurricane season sets in. Their wives opted to let them make it a boys only
trip. Sound like wise ladies! Tom, the boat's owner, Guillermo and Bob were a lot of fun to
share drinks,food and stories with on the boats. They headed off to Key West the same day
we came back to the mainland.