Variation on a scene posted earlier.

Graceless lady
you know who I am
You know I can’t let you
just slide through my hands
And wild horses couldn’t drag me away.

I watched you suffer
a dull aching pain
and now you’ve decided
to show me the same.

–Mick Jagger, Keith Richards

How I wish, how I wish you were here,
We’re just two lost souls
swimming in a fish bowl
year after year
Running over the same old ground
what have we found?
the same old fears
Wish you were here.

–David Gilmour, Roger Waters

Three miles to the west of Fort Jefferson stands the Dry Tortugas Light, a lighthouse first built in 1825 and still in operation. Think of all the hurricanes this lighthouse has seen over almost 200 years. The isolation, loneliness, and harsh but beautiful environment of this structure really captures my imagination. It’s night time as I write this post, and out way way out there in the sea right now this lonely lighthouse shines it light performing its duty, but very few if any human eyes are there to see.

Even though Fort Jefferson is very remote, it’s still a National Park which offers camping, a beach, and a picnic area. Just don’t plan to drive the Winnebago there.

The image above was taken from the top of the fort’s wall.

Key West is the end of the road but not the end of the Florida keys. Small uninhabited islands stretch for another 70 miles or so further west from Key West. Way way out in the middle of the shallow blue sea (around 3 to 5 feet deep all the way) there stands a huge brick fort named Fort Jefferson built in the mid 1800s. The fort is only accessible by seaplane or ferry from Key West and is managed by the National Park Service. Very few people visit the fort with it being so far off the beaten path and with very limited access. I’ll be posting a few images from the fort over the next few days. Remember this fort is 70 miles WEST of Key West. Amazing.

I had heard tales of the green flash in sailing books and even in the Pirate of the Caribbean movies but was a little skeptical of its actual existence. I can now confirm that it is an actual phenomenon that occurs just as the sun disappears on the horizon. This image is not of the flash and it would be very difficult if not impossible to capture with a still camera since it lasts for a second or less.