Dry Tortugas National Park is not one of the easiest parks to visit. If you have a seaworthy boat and can navigate open seas, you can take yourself there. If you have a spare $600 per person, you can take a seaplane there. If you are like the rest of us, there is the "Yankee Freedom" ferry that runs daily from Key West to the island some 70 miles west into the Gulf of Mexico.

If you are really lucky, you will get "Hollywood" as your tour guide (yes, that was the name he went by). The concessionaire running the ferry also provided the tour guide for the park. The advantage of taking the boat (beyond a relaxing trip across the water) was that the park information started on board as we were in transit. Hollywood has been doing this for nine years, yet still has the enthusiasm of someone who truly loves the park.

Once at the park, visitors are free to roam around, swim, snorkel, or just relax. However, we joined many in a 20-minute "lecture" on the fort's history, followed by a 45-minute walking tour. I highly recommend both if you want to know the history of the place.

The fort was one of many coastal defense forts built by the United States following the War of 1812. This one was the most powerful and one of the largest, given its relative isolation far from any help. Its location is perfect for controlling access into and out of the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River. Hence its importance.

The fort was so huge, and all of the building material had to be shipped from quite some distance, that it was never completed. It was, however, active while construction continued and never had to fire its guns in anger. There is a small gift shop and Visitor Center inside the fort, along with a small section, blocked off to the public, where the staff lives in shifts so they do not need to make a 2.5-hour one-way commute every day.