Buresh Blog: Spring "swings"... Dry Tortugas National Park!

April 3, 2018 — Coming off a very cool March.... April is acting more like March with wide temp. swings, frequent cold frontal passages & still plenty of snow across the Northern U.S. with some occasional severe storm outbreaks.  It looks like this pattern will hold through mid April before perhaps gradually breaking down.

Our April averages at JIA:

low / high - 1st: 52 / 77.... 30th: 58 / 82

rainfall: 2.64"

sunrise / sunset: 1st - 7:15am / 7:45pm.... 30th - 6:44am / 8:03pm - gain 49 min. of daylight.

Back to our weather pattern.  The swing of nearly 7 degrees cooler from Feb. to March is the 2nd biggest turn-around since a similar swing from Feb. to March in 1932.  March - at 59.5 degrees - was much cooler than the record-tying avg. for Feb. of 66.1 degrees.  The back & forth will continue for at least the next 10 days but generally averaging above avg. with the potential for some timely rain since we'll continue to see frontal passages from time to time.  Otherwise we're entering what is usually one of the driest parts of the year - April through mid May.

The NHC finally has a new director - Kenneth Graham, former meteorologist in charge at the New Orleans/ Baton Rouge N.W.S.  I had a chance to interview Mr. Graham 5 years after hurricane Katrina when the N.W.S. was instrumental in warning the Gulf Coast prior to the arrival of catastrophic Katrina.

So ..... I am fresh back from a true get-away as I took a week - with my family - to camping on the Dry Tortugas where there is no running water AND no cell service! :) .   The latter was one of my favorite parts much to the chagrin of my teenagers.  If you ever get the chance to visit Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas - about 70 miles west of Key West - I highly recommend you make the effort.  I see the fort as sort of the U.S. version of Europe's Coliseum (Colosseum).  Fort Jefferson was started in 1840 as a means to protect the Gulf Coast though ended being more symbolic as the fort was never fired upon nor fired from.  The fort was abandoned in 1873 after a 2nd bout of yellow fever plus a hurricane hit.  The fort was also used as a prison & is famous for being home to Abraham Lincoln conspirators including Dr. Mudd (who was pardoned in 1869).  Today the fort is occupied by the few campers (about 10-12 spaces) - we made some great friends, several National Park rangers & a nearly constant stream of daytime visitors whether by boat or sea plane.  Ft. Jefferson on Garden Key is a true American treasure, & it's a family vacation that will forever be..... let's say for the sake of my kids - "memorable"..... so mission accomplished :).

While on the one week "sabbatical" (very short as sabbaticals go!), I managed to start reading some books I've been wanting to delve into for some time.  Most anticipated - & not the least disappointing - was "Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America's National Parks" by our own local T-U columnist & very talented writer Mark Woods.  Mark spent a short time at Ft. Jefferson on the Dry Tortugas, but I ended up being more fascinated by where I have not been or - in the case of New York City - National parks that I didn't even know existed.  Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge, part of Gateway National Recreation Area is nestled right in NYC!  And Mark's very descriptive chapter on one of our nation's newest national parks - Flight 93 National Memorial in rural Pennsylvania - is most poignant.  I found Mark's inner turmoil regarding the death of his mother during his tour of national parks in 2016 (100 year anniversary of "America's best idea") to parallel my own life.  So there's lots to consider & to ponder - with a mix of beauty, family, personal struggles & national park nostalgia, sometimes crisis all wrapped into one - give "Lassoing the Sun" some of your time!

My island "reading tree" is below.....

My view of the beach & fort from the "reading tree":

Sunsets were amazing - the lighthouse is about 3 miles away on Loggerhead Key....

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