Whilst Key West, FL is the southernmost City, Dry Tortugas National Park seems to be the most out of the way National Park in the United States. 70 miles west of Key West, FL and known for Fort Jefferson, magnificent blue waters and superb coral reefs.
Reachable by boat or plane only, we opted for the 2 1/2 hour ferry service, which included the guided tour of Fort Jefferson and snorkel and fin rental, as well as breakfast on the way over and late lunch on the way back.
The southernmost City in the contiguous United States.
Home to Sloppy Joe’s Saloon, the name encouraged by Ernest Hemingway
The southern most point in the United States
Pepe’s Cafe, where legend has it Harry Truman had his morning coffee.
after having run the country from the Little White House
Ernest Hemingway’ home (overrun by tourist trolleys coming and going every 5 minutes)
The sunset at Mallory Square
and a last few drinks at the Hog’s Breath Saloon
Overall a mix of tourists, interesting architecture and a city that has to be on everybody’s list of places to see.
Whilst preparing for the trip, we read “The Last Train to Paradise” about Henry Flagler’s railroad going south and the hurricane that eventually wiped it out.
The book is very well written and explains Flagler’s and the railroad’s journey from St. Augustine, FL to Key West, FL. The story of how resilient mankind can be when it tries to achieve dreams that other people would not or could not dare to follow.
And the heartaches and troubles that these folks had to go through to fulfill one man’s dream.
It is a definitive must read as the drive down follows remnants of Flagler’s railroad everywhere.
all the way down to the Railroad Station in Key West, FL
We drove the short distance to Key West and were surprised by the destruction and uninhabitable portions of large stretches of land on the way. Debris fields greeted us on both sides of US-1 and destroyed houses, decks and boat slips were everywhere to be seen.
Beaches where the wind forced the sand so high they were still off limits to visitors.
An RV Park completely leveled
And roads still being worked on all up and down US-1
And yet, some areas look as if nothing ever happened
and the Key Deer, an endangered species, are back to normal as well
We planned to spend some time on the Florida Keys and started looking for suitable campgrounds in January. Due to Hurricane Irma that hit the Keys last year, every campground between Key West and Marathon was closed and some are still closed and will not be up until the end of 2018.
We dedided on Jolly Roger as it is right on the Golf of Mexico and “Wheeling It” had done a good video about the campground. It was available for the dates we wanted, at least after some juggling around with dates prior to Memorial Day at which time it was already completely booked. We knew the Keys were not going to be inexpensive, but then we also knew that the chance of coming back was slim.
So we splurged on a site right on the seawall to get the most out of our stay. After all, you only live once and these are the rewards
and were rewarded with some spectacular sunsets
and the occasional rainbow
How do I close this entry? Beautiful views, right on the ocean, Paradise?! All in all a perfect first 10 days and worth the price for the campground.