Garden Key Beachcombing

Sea fan washed up on Garden Key Beach in the Dry Tortugas

 

 

 

 

We rode the Yankee Freedom II from Key West to Fort Jefferson National Park in the Dry Tortugas this morning.

After touring Fort Jefferson we went beachcombing. Beautiful sea fans like this one were washed up along the beach. Most were laying flat on the beach but this one was sitting upright like it would be on the sea floor.

 

 

 

Coral washed up on Garden Key Beach in the Dry Tortugas

 

 

 

This is a piece of coral that had washed up on Garden Key Beach at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas.

Sea fan washed up on Garden Key Beach in the Dry Tortugas

 

 

 

We saw numerous purple sea fans washed up on the beaches of Garden Key at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas.

Coral washed up on Garden Key Beach in the Dry Tortugas

 

 

This yellow piece of coral had not been bleached by the sun. Give it a few more weeks and it will be snow white.

 

Small shells found while beachcombing on Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two of the small shells we found while walking the beach on Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas.

 

 

Shells and coral pieces washed up on Garden Key Beach in the Dry Tortugas

 

 

 

The beaches of Garden Key are littered with pieces of coral and beautiful shells.

 

Since Garden Key and Fort Jefferson are located in the Dry Tortugas 70-miles west of Key West the only way to get here is by boat or sea plane.

We opted for the "boat" option and took the Yankee Freedom II ferry from Key West to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas.

The 70-mile ride each way on the Yankee Freedom II is a special treat itself.

It takes you past other islands in the Florida Keys chain of islands. However, these islands are not connected to the mainland by bridge. Once you leave Key West Harbor on the Yankee Freedom II you are heading into an area only accessible by boat or sea plane. Thirty miles from Key West the Yankee Freedom II takes you past the Marquesas Keys and thousands of lobster trap buoys and the boats working these lobster traps.

The Yankee Freedom II is the ferry service that transports visitors to Dry Tortugas National Park every day.