Day 4
As we unmoored Crustacean and continued our travels east on the Okeechobee Waterway, we watched the beautiful sunrise with a crescent moon also on display.
The river past the lock becomes fresh water and the homes that line the shore become fewer, replaced by Pine, Oak and Scrub Palm forests, and lots more oxbows.
We also had our first alligator sighting! We ended with a count of 9 alligators today!
It is such a beautiful day to travel. Here are some shots the river.
The closer we got to the lake, the more agriculture /farming is evident. Crops raised around the lake are oranges, sugar cane, sod, tomatoes, beans, squash and peppers. There are also cattle ranches.
Bill liked to "moo" at the cattle as we went by. Many steer responded to his call by looking up and following the boat. Bill says they were fascinated by such a strange "Cow" going by.
Further upriver the waterway narrows and a man-made canal allows us to continue our journey towards the lake. Along the canal we come to the Ortona lock which will raise us 8 feet. But when we approached the lock they informed us that required training was under way and we would have to wait a little over an hour for the lock to open for us. Not great news, but we used our time to get chores done on the boat.
Two hours later, we cleared the lock and continued on our way east to Moore Haven where we will tie up to a dock for the night.
