Just 70 miles west of Key West, Florida, Dry Tortugas National Park, originally named Las Tortugas (The Turtles) for the many native turtles, was renamed to Dry Tortugas to let visitors know that there was no fresh water available.

Have you visited a National Park recently? The Dry Tortugas National Park, centered around Fort Jefferson and located on Garden Key at the tip of the Florida Keys, offers a super day of fun in the sun. Authorized in 1935 as a National Monument and converted to National Park in 1992, the park had 62,000 visitors in 2005.

If you want once-in-a-lifetime adventures, enjoy learning about U.S. history, and seeing amazing sights, the National Parks will provide experiences you%u2019ll always remember.

And if you%u2019re one of the more than 125,000 people who collect National Park cancellation stamps, like I do, you%u2019ll find the Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida a joy to discover while zigzagging across the United States on your giant scavenger hunt. More about the stamps in a minute.

No other country has anything that even comes close to the U.S. National Park System. It ranks as one of America%u2019s most magnificent achievements. While other countries have preserved lands, the U.S. National Park System is a core part of America%u2019s identity. The National Parks logged 275 million visitors last year. By comparison, that%u2019s over three times greater than the number of passengers traveling through the world%u2019s busiest airport in Atlanta in 2005.

Other fun facts about Dry Tortugas:

• Visit Dr. Samuel A. Mudd%u2019s cell. Imprisoned for providing medical care to John Wilkes Booth, after Booth assassinated President Lincoln, and later pardoned.
• America%u2019s largest 19th century fort, Fort Jefferson%u2019s location protected the shipping lanes to the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic-bound Mississippi River trade.
• Don%u2019t miss the views of the exceptionally clear blue water from the parade grounds and the top of the fort.
• No driving up and parking at this park; choose a boat or plane to get there.

Now, back to those cancellation stamps.

They resemble the post office%u2019s cancellation stamp you see on the mail in your mailbox. Not all parks have cancellation stamps and some parks have several unique cancellation stamps scattered across a variety of park locations, such as visitor centers, entrance gates, and ranger huts.

In most cases, you can apply the stamp yourself, although in some parks the rangers will apply the stamp for you.

You can get in on the fun, too, by visiting the more than 460 national parks, seashores, lakeshores, recreation areas, historic sites, battlefields, memorials, monuments, trails, preserves, reserves, scenic rivers, parkways and heritage areas across the United States.