Dry Tortugas Beachcombing

Lip of a cowry shell on coral littered beach in the Dry Tortugas

Joyce took this picture of of the lip of an old cowry shell mixed into the fragments of coral and shells washed up on the beach at Garden Key and Fort Jefferson.

Shell and coral littered beach on Garden Key at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas

Shell and coral fragments essentially cover the Garden Key beach at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas.

Sponge and sea fan skeleton on Garden Key Beach at Fort Jefferson

Joyce got this picture of a freshly washed up sponge and the skeleton of an old sea fan while beachcombing on Garden Key at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas.

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.

This is broken pieces of coral, shells and sea weed on Garden Key at Fort Jefferson

Joyce took this picture of debris washed up on the beach at Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park at Fort Jefferson.

It is mostly small pieces of coral and shell.

Pin Shell washed up on the Dry Tortugas beach at Garden Key

Joyce got this picture of a colorful pin shell washed up in the Dry Tortugas at Garden Key.