The Big O

So, after washing Scooter, eating well, and saying hi to the local 12' alligator, we departed Indiantown Marina headed west to LaBelle, Florida & points west. This meant we had to cross Lake Okeechobee. If you will look at any Rand McNally map of Florida you will see a big roundish lake in the very middle of the state. That is it; the big "O". 22 mile across, with depths varying between low to 20'. Locks on each side ease you up to its level, or ease you down to the appropriate river or canal level. Entry from the St Lucie lock into the lake is an eye opener. Water, water everywhere. The channel is well marked, altho' the markers are not all that close together. GPS works! The prudent boater will definitely want to stay in the channel, particularly in drought periods. There is also a second route, known as Route 2, or the rim route that is about 10 miles longer. We elected to go straight across, as we had many miles to go that day. We got to Clewiston, the Western terminus of the Route 1 crossing, turned left thru the lock, saw Roland Martins' marina & restaurant, rotated, back thru the lock & turned left into the Lake Okeechobee waterway westbound. Truly an amazing ditch. Straight as an arrow, wide at times, narrow at others. Populated by all sorts of wildlife, and surrounded by scenery that is sort of raw in its beauty, it was a trip that turned into a study in contrasts. No mansions tho'.
A long day brought us to LaBelle, FL. Since there were no marinas to be had, and the water was too deep for our main anchor to operate in, we tied up to the Rivers Edge Motel dock. An interesting spot. From there we walked to town, bought groceries, cooked a great American boat meal; burgers 'n slaw 'n beer




Morning seemed to be right there all of a sudden, so it was off to Ft, Myers, FL to meet my son & his family. The trip was punctuated by lots of "you'd better go slo'" signs, some shallow water, and an obviously building storm system with winds & rain. Other than that a good leg.
Ft. Myers is a neat place that seems to be trying hard to renovate and rebuild some pretty sad downtown sections. It was a fun stay.