Odometer 29694
Trip Meter 134 miles
Before we leave Lake Okeechobee we wanted to take a bike ride down the LOST (Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. This trail follows the top of the dike around the lake- the dike that was right across the canal from our RV space. We signed up for one night at the Gracious RV Park and then they had to put us in this awesome canal-front space and... well we just had to sign up for an additional day.
They warned us that there were active alligators in the canal and advised against swimming- NO problem here. The next day (yesterday April 2nd) we got the folding bikes out of the basement and aired up the tires, then loaded them into the back of the CRV for the trip to the access road. There are access roads to the dike trail at each of the 7 locks around the lake.
Yep you read that right- the lake and the canals are at differing water levels, so the Corps of Engineers maintains locks to allow boaters to travel from the surrounding canals into the lake.
Here is a photo of the Henry Creek Lock closest to our RV park- it's 3 miles south on the canal. We stopped on the bicycle trail and talked to the lock operator. She is a transplant from Ohio and loves it here. She likes the Henry Creek Lock because it keeps her pretty busy. She told us she has had as many as 7 boats in the lock at one time, when it gets busy. The difference in water level right now is only 7 inches, but during the rainy season it can be many feet of difference.
As we cycled along the trail we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a photo of our bus on the opposite side.
The canal side RV space was a real bonus for us, and we were totally impressed by this small park. They have just remodeled the public spaces and added a heated pool (so new it wasn't open yet!)
The clouds gave us a little respite from the sun, but we workerd up quite a sweat even with the shade and a slight breeze.
This photo was taken at a lock and the road here is wide enough for vehicles- but the paved trail narrows down to about 5' wide on the rest of the lake. The lake is indescribably large filling the horizon for a full 180 degrees. You can tell it is fairly shallow by the tall grasses growing out into the lake several hundred feet off shore. The average depth across this 700 square mile lake is 10 feet.
Today the (3rd of April) we rigged for travel and set off on State route 70 towards the east coast.
The area on both sides of route 70 was filled with orange groves- Yeah! this is Florida!
Florida 70 took us to Fort Pierce where we took a left turn onto I-95 and headed north to Titusville and the Seasons in the Sun RV park. Turns out I-95 is under construction for most of that distance. Our estimate of 2 hours and 11 minutes travel time from the lake to here stretched by about an hour. We still got in at 2:30 in the afternoon- not too shabby. The RV park is faily large, and the spaces are generous- we even got an orange tree beside us! The rules say we can pick the fruit as long as we are not greedy- so we tried one orange- juicy, but kinda sour. Maybe we'll try another later on.
The weather forecast is for scattered thunder showers this afternoon, so after we got set-up in our space, we took a leisurly walk around the park. By 6:30 we had some light showers and by 8 it was raining steadily.
Trip Meter 134 miles
Before we leave Lake Okeechobee we wanted to take a bike ride down the LOST (Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. This trail follows the top of the dike around the lake- the dike that was right across the canal from our RV space. We signed up for one night at the Gracious RV Park and then they had to put us in this awesome canal-front space and... well we just had to sign up for an additional day.
Yep you read that right- the lake and the canals are at differing water levels, so the Corps of Engineers maintains locks to allow boaters to travel from the surrounding canals into the lake.
As we cycled along the trail we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a photo of our bus on the opposite side.
The clouds gave us a little respite from the sun, but we workerd up quite a sweat even with the shade and a slight breeze.
Today the (3rd of April) we rigged for travel and set off on State route 70 towards the east coast.
Florida 70 took us to Fort Pierce where we took a left turn onto I-95 and headed north to Titusville and the Seasons in the Sun RV park. Turns out I-95 is under construction for most of that distance. Our estimate of 2 hours and 11 minutes travel time from the lake to here stretched by about an hour. We still got in at 2:30 in the afternoon- not too shabby. The RV park is faily large, and the spaces are generous- we even got an orange tree beside us! The rules say we can pick the fruit as long as we are not greedy- so we tried one orange- juicy, but kinda sour. Maybe we'll try another later on.
The weather forecast is for scattered thunder showers this afternoon, so after we got set-up in our space, we took a leisurly walk around the park. By 6:30 we had some light showers and by 8 it was raining steadily.
Since there is no sunset to post, we'll leave you with a photo of orange blossoms.
Your Traveling Friends,
Jeff and Joan
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