White Ibis

W. P. Franklin Corps Campground: Another beautiful morning—chilly at first. Eagle was out there again. Mike emptied the grey water tank for the last time. After showering and dressing we drove out to Lake Okeechobee—stopping at the cute little Alva Diner for breakfast. We have friends from the Keys staying at Lake Okeechobee for the winter and hoped to get together with them, but they were working today. The lake was not at all what we thought it would be. Almost as far as you can see is grass—and way in the distance is the open water. Looks more like the Everglades. Well, actually it is where the Everglades begin. There are open channels you can take to get out to the open water, but to the naked eye it’s just grassland. You can only see the water with binoculars. On the drive over on Rt. 80 is nothing but orange groves and fields and fields of sugar cane. Didn’t even know they grew sugar cane in Florida. Back to our pretty riverside park and relaxed until about 4:00. Then we cleaned the windows inside and out. After getting that done we put away the ladder and the waste water tote. Had left-overs for dinner.

On the trail at Hickey's Creek Park

W. P. Franklin Corps Campground: After a cool morning it warmed up to about 74 in the afternoon. We decided to check out the park across the river from us. Thought we had last year, but we didn’t. A nice little park with a little sandy beach and swim area. You can also walk out and check out the boats going through the locks. Two went through while we were there. Left there and stopped at Hickey’s Creek Mitigation Park right on Rt. 80. This is a very nice park consisting of 1,124 acres—the largest in Lee County. The park is named after Dixon O. Hickey who homesteaded a parcel of land on this creek in the early 1800s. We walked one of the trails down to the creek. A beautiful hike through palmettos and pines down to Hickey’s Creek. There’s a fishing pier down there and a couple of bridges have been built over the creek as the trail winds around. You can also kayak and canoe the little creek which empties into the Caloosahatchee River. There are over 5 miles of trails. They have a white board at the trail head with a list of critters spotted on the trail. Pretty impressive. Lots of snakes. Back to our site on the beautiful Caloosahatchee and sat outside reading and soaking up the last rays of the sun. The river was like glass.

Wed, 11/26/08

W. P. Franklin Corps Campground: When I first looked out this morning it was so foggy you couldn’t even see the river. But when I got up it had all burned off and the sun was shining. Chilly morning though. Just hung out all day and then met Ron and Jan for dinner. After dinner we went over to their place and had pumpkin pie for desert. A fun evening. Chilly.

Our pretty RV site...

W. P. Franklin Corps Campground: This morning the river was so calm it was like a mirror. And the eagle was in his lofty perch across the river from us for a while. A beautiful morning. Mike emptied the grey water tank into our tote and hauled it over to the dump station. Then we started cleaning the outside of the fifth wheel. Got the back section done and part of the living side. Once we get into the Keys we can’t access the back since it extends over the lake a little bit. We uncovered the bikes and put the cover away. After we finished our chores we sat outside in the sun for a while reading. Then we headed over to Camping World and bought a new sewer hose and some other stuff and picked up a few groceries and then headed back through Alva. Love the little town of Alva and the whole N. River Road area. We have new neighbors—a couple of 70-something women in a motor home. Clouding up this evening, but it hit the upper 70s today. Nice.

Jan

Ron

W. P. Franklin Corps Campground: A beautiful morning, but windy and cool. Ron and Jan came over around 11:00 and we sat around outside for a while enjoying this pretty, peaceful place. Had Italian sausage sandwiches and pasta for dinner and then back outside and watched the sun set. The water in the river was just like glass. Beautiful evening. The mullet were jumping. And the eagle made an appearance briefly.

Eagle in the tree across the river from us...

Pasco Winter Quarters to W. P. Franklin Corps of Engr CG, No. Ft. Myers, FL: Pulled out of Pasco at about 10:20 this morning. I drove until about 20 miles north of our exit and then Mike took over. Got set up at our new campsite and sat outside for a while. This is such a pretty area. We’re right on the Caloosahatchee River surrounded by beautiful, estate-type homes—lots of acreage with split-rail fenced pastures of cattle, horses, donkeys, and even llamas. The bald eagle made a visit to the tree across the river from us. He was here last year also. On the site next to us is a woman who has been here almost every time we’ve been here. She stays in her mini-van. I’ve heard various stories about her, but the most probable is that she rents out her home for a few weeks every year and stays at the campground in her mini-van. Not very comfortable I would think. 74 degrees here but windy which made it feel much cooler. We headed to No. Ft. Myers and picked up some groceries and bought a couple of subs and came home to eat.

Pasco Winter Quarters: Mike got the propane tank filled this morning and then we drove over to Sandy & Dan’s. Walked over to their club house and had lunch. Dan and Mike played pool and Sandy and I walked back. Watched a movie and then played spades for a while. Had left-overs for dinner. Left around 9:00. We leave tomorrow for W. P. Franklin Corps of Engineers campground north of Ft. Myers, FL.