Tuesday October 17th 2023

The fall temperatures continued to control the weather. It was in the fifties this morning. The TV weather reporters indicated it was the first time since early March that the temperature was as low. Today’s wind was a little less intense and a more northerly. The result was a more comfortable day with respect to noise as the wind blew trough my slide out room awnings. Yesterday was the absolute worst angle between the orientation of my RV home and the wind direction. Every little change in wind velocity brought a loud rattle and banging.

By noon the temperature had increase to the point that I could take a walk outside without a sweatshirt. The wildlife seemed to be reacting to the change in temperature as well. The birds were not in their usual locations. I only saw a few birds in the distance. Later in the day, when the temperature was back in the mid seventies, a few birds were back in the usual locations.

My weather induced lethargy from yesterday was gone today. I went out for a little exploring in the car before ending up at Walmart for groceries. It wasn’t as busy today as it was back on Sunday the 8th. It didn’t look like there had been a run on supplies. The shelves were a little better stocked. On a positive note this Walmart continues to put real people at the checkouts. There aren’t as many self serve checkouts and several assisted checkouts were staffed. I even found a checkout with a cashier without a line. That hasn’t happened in a long time.

The campground is busier tonight than I expected based on last week. There are more here tonight than there were last night. Many of the current set of residents seem to be here for the fishing. The designated fishing areas around the dam have been very busy the last couple of days. The change in temperature may have brought out the fish and the fishermen to catch them. In addition to the shore based fishermen there have been boats in the river every night competing for the same fish since the weekend.

Monday October 16th 2023

I woke up this morning to temperatures in the low sixties. The high temperature for the day was only in the mid seventies. With low humidity and a strong west wind it was almost uncomfortable outside. The wind was blowing out of the west northwest a fairly strong force with gusts even higher. The result was a chill on exposed skin particularly when not in the sun. The cool weather shouldn’t be complained about, but it is a change that takes getting used to.

The day really got away from me. I had originally planned to do some exploring in the area and buy some groceries today. Somehow it was after 3PM before I thought about leaving the campground. Probably because of the cooler weather my daily activities were a little out of sequence. I took my first walk of the day before breakfast. It was only a short walk, but it delayed the start of breakfast. Once I did get around to breakfast I really lingered over my coffee while chasing information and news on the internet. When I went out for my walk before breakfast, I turned off the TV and I didn’t turn it back on when I got back. Generally I use the change of programming on the TV as an aid in measuring the passage of time. Today I didn’t have that crutch. It was well afternoon before I decided it was time for another walk. Once that was finished it was late to adventure out of the campground.

Around the park more of the weekend residents departed today. Even with the two new arrivals this evening it is looking pretty empty around here. Judging by last week it will be Thursday before the park starts to look lively again.

Sunday October 15th 2023

The weather is in transition. As the day went by the humidity went down and the wind increased. The temperature remained in the mid eighties. The high temperature tomorrow and Tuesday is forecast to be in the high seventies and the overnight low may be in the fifties. Fall is coming back for a few days.

I took a drive east today. This is the first time I’ve actually explored that area in tourist mode. I have only driven through the area on my way to and from this campground. The area starts out with the ranch land that surrounds the campground and transitions into a more crop oriented area. The big crop appears to be sugar cane. The crop lines both sides of the road in some areas. The community of Clewiston on the south shore of Lake Okeechobee has a number of things named for or related to sugar cane.

Lake Okeechobee is the big natural attraction in the area. It is a lake that has been substantially formed by dikes that traps the runoff of water from the Florida Peninsular on the east side of the central ridge that flows toward and into the Everglades mostly via the Kissimmee River. The dikes help the lake work as a flood control for the agricultural areas to the south and east. Hurricanes used to cause massive flooding and loss of life. To get to the lake you need to climb the dike from level ground. The water is actually above the level of the surrounding land.

I stopped at John Stretch Memorial Park, a Palm Beach county park. There was a cricket match on a purpose built pitch. I’ve seen similar cricket matches before, but I surely don’t understand the game. It looks like some bizarre combination of baseball, Crockett and badminton all rolled into one game to these uneducated eyes. I only watched a few minutes before climbing the nearby dike to get a look at Lake Okeechobee. The lake didn’t really impress, but the Lake Okeechobee Scenic trail (LOST) looked like a nice place to ride a bike along the race shore during a cooler time of year.

When I got back to my RV home the days departures had completed. I was surprised to see that most of the tent campers were not among the departures. Most of the departures were by RVs that had arrived during the week. It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow.

Saturday October 14th 2023

After three or four days of mostly cloudy weather, today was a sunny day. Only a few fluffy clouds dotted the horizon. The humidity was a little lower, but the temperature climbed just short of ninety with a resulting feels like temperature near 100 degrees.

The campground got a little more active today. New campers arrived including several tent campers. The sites aren’t ideal for tents, but it is possible to find some grass behind the cement pads to setup a tent. Rain isn’t in the current forecast so the tent campers should be able to enjoy a fine weekend.

The boaters were also busy on the Caloosahatchee canal. The Ortona lock had to operate several times today. It even had a commercial tugboat along with a pleasure craft in the lock at the same time this morning. Granted during the winter the lock gets more action with all the boaters crossing the Florida peninsular from Fort Myers on the Gulf to Stuart on the Atlantic or vice versa. I suspect most of the traffic this time of year is local or people going from Fort Meyers to Lake Okeechobee for a few day get away.

Friday October 13th 2023

Yesterday’s humidity and wind turned into rain overnight. I woke up several times to the sound of heavy rain on the roof. With daylight the rain was gone, but if anything the humidity increased. There was plenty of rain in the area, but most of the storms went around my location. The only rain was late in the afternoon. The edge of a storm to the west hit with a glancing blow. The high temperature was in the low nineties, but the thick humidity made it feel much hotter.

My mission for the day was to replace my cell phone. My three year old phone was getting progressively worse. The battery was holding less charge with each passing week and the display had developed some persistent artifact. The new Google Pixel 8 phones became available yesterday. Today I made the thirty mile trip into Fort Myers to get a Pixel 8 Pro from the Verizon store. I would have preferred to buy the phone straight from Google, but the logistics of receiving a package overly complicates things. The purchase process wasn’t difficult, but I wasn’t impressed. I knew what I wanted and the sales rep didn’t have anything to do but ring up the sale. Still he saw fit to try a hard sell on device insurance at more than $17 a month. I had to say no more than half a dozen times. He even had the great suggestion that I just get it and stop it after four or five months. Then he tried to up the anti even more by offering to sell an all electronic device insurance package. After another half a dozen “NO” statements from me, I finally got my new phone and was out the door. Whatever amount of commission on the insurance he wanted was still in my pocket.

Once I got home getting the new phone set up was another challenge. It really wants you to have an internet connection other than the mobile data on the phone. I ended up sitting in my car with the motor running using the mobile hot spot it provides. It is still mobile data but the phone didn’t know it. A half an hour and one phone call to the Verizon Tech support automated help line to get the phone activated later I was up and running. The last two times I’ve bought a new phone at the Verizon store they have done all this for me. The commission deprived sales droid I had today couldn’t be bothered. There are still a few setup things like pairing my earbuds with the new phone that remain to be done. So far I’m happy with the new phone.

The campground has filled up a little for the weekend. It still isn’t as full as it was last weekend. The humidity and the uncertain rain in the forecast may be the issue.

Thursday October 12th 2023

It was windy today. The wind played a role in everything. There was a sustained wind about 20mph out of the south. When you add in the gusts up to 40mph, it was a blustery day. The other element of weather that came with the south wind was humidity. The temperature climbed into the low nineties, but it felt like it was in the low hundreds.

The wind made everything more difficult. This campground is located on the south bank of the Caloosahatchee Canal. The terrain leading up to the bank from the south is all open cattle land. There is next to nothing to block the wind. Wearing a hat is not in the cards. It wouldn’t stay on. In fact just trying to walk in a straight line is complicated. The birds that I have been finding rather frequently the last few days were harder to find today. Most of them were missing, but the few I spotted were in different, more sheltered locations. Driving today was also complicated by the wind.

A 20mph wind with 40mph gusts isn’t a lot of wind in other areas of the country. Out west windier conditions are not unusual. Here in Florida wind is usually a short term event associated with thunderstorms and other severe weather. Hurricanes are the exception. They bring very heavy wind for a day or two, but generally speaking from April through October it isn’t very windy. The winter months are the windy season. I guess that means Fall is here and winters around the corner. Someone just forgot to tell Mother Nature to turn down the heat.

As predicted a few more RVs arrived to add to the occupancy for the weekend. I suspect there will be a lot more tomorrow. The weekend weather forecast shows a positive trend, so it may draw other local campers out. At the very least the weather is not going to cause anybody to cancel.

Wednesday October 11th 2023

The humidity climbed into the high zone today. The temperature made it to ninety, but it felt like it was around 100 degrees. The weather went from Fall to Summer overnight. The forecast and the continuously moving clouds made the chance of rain high as the day went by. A brief shower finally wet the ground shortly after 5 in the afternoon. The bulk of the storm passed by to the west.

I stayed in camp around my RV home today. Other than doing a few chores in the morning, I spent most of the day walking around with my camera or just sitting outside in the shade. The campground is still fairly empty during the midweek. The Ortona lock gets a few boats during the day. Everything is very slow, but at least the wildlife is plentiful.

Tuesday October 10th 2023

Yesterday’s fall weather returned a little toward the summer side today. There was a little more sun and the humidity increased. The result was a day with a few more degrees on the thermometer and an overall slight decrease in the comfort level. Tomorrow is forecast to continue the trend back toward summer weather. Afternoon thunderstorms are in the forecast.

Today’s excursion involved a thirty plus mile drive back to the eastern outskirts of Fort Myers. I stopped at the Franklin Lock and Dam on the way. It was equally as quiet as the Ortona Lock I’m camped at. The campground across the river looked to be a little more occupied than mine. I had considered staying there, but Ortona South has a little more space to walk around as well as more wildlife to watch.

When I got back to my RV home, I found the campground a little more empty. Three additional campsites in my side of the campground were empty. A cursory check of the other side looked like it had lost a resident or two as well. I didn’t see any new residents arrive this evening to bring the occupancy back to level. My guess is the campground will start to fill again on Thursday for the weekend.

Today I got pictures of three types of herons and saw a fourth in the distance. The Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron and Green Heron all allowed me to take their picture. A Great Blue Heron flew away before I could find it in the camera lens.

Monday October 9th 2023

The overnight temperature was in the low sixties. The temperature climbed slowly under the cover of clouds today. It eventually peaked in the low eighties. The humidity was low and a gently wind blew most of the day. It was a real fall day.

The campground continued to maintain a quiet atmosphere. A couple of more RVs departed this morning and a few arrived in the afternoon. There seems to be a consistent occupancy of around 15 units. The Ortona lock seemed to have one burst of activity today. Perhaps there was one planned time for the lock operation. There was one boat at each end of the lock around noon. They had to wait for more than half an hour before the down (west) bound sailboat was let into the lock. It was followed by an up (east) bound motor yacht. I didn’t see any other action at the lock the rest of the day.

I enjoyed walking around the campground carrying my camera. The tri-color herons are here in abundance and don’t seem to mind having their pictures taken. I also got a few pictures of other birds and things. The clouds even thinned out enough late in the day to allow the sun to present a nice sunset.

Between walks I spent sometime online trying to solve my winter reservation issue. I never succeeded making reservations for the three weeks and a couple of day period starting in the middle of January. I have been checking the public parks regularly for cancellations. I prefer the state and federal parks for two reasons. First they are closer to nature which is my ideal style of campground. The other more practical reason is they are less expensive. So far I haven’t been found any cancellations.

Even though most of the cancellations will happen closer to the actual date, I can’t risk waiting too much longer for a cancellation. The commercial parks that are the alternative to the public parks will fill up quickly in the majority of the state. Brand new parks and parks in the north central part of the state may have vacancies all winter long, but they are not well located with respect to my other reservations.

The nightly rates at the commercial parks that have availability are also high. Florida is not a cheap RV destination. The cheapest I can find in the the Orlando area is $72 a night. Along the coasts the nightly rates are even higher. The rates in the central part of the state other than Orlando are a little bit better. The problem is it costs me about 50 cents a mile to travel in my motorhome. A detour of one hundred miles out and one hundred miles back will cost $100. That means the rate would have to be about $15 a night for a week long stay to make it worth the detour.

I’ll pay when it is necessary. In particular I’ll pay a premium for a place like Disney’s Fort Wilderness, because of all the entertainment extras like fireworks that come with the nightly fee. Currently Disney’s rates are about $100 higher than the cheapest places I’ve found in the Orlando area. Right now that is in consideration for some of my three weeks of missing reservation. Filling in around that stay then becomes the challenge. I am giving my self until the end of October to get everything booked. That is the longest I will wait before the risk of having to travel long distances becomes too high.

Sunday October 8th 2023

Today was a cloudy day that kept the temperature in the low to middle eighties. It was nice to have a day that wasn’t very humid and flirting with the nineties. The low tonight is forecast to be in the mid to low sixties. Fall weather is here again.

The weekend visitors cleared out of the park before the morning checkout time. Tomorrow isn’t a holiday in Florida. The schools are in session. Walking around the campground in the early afternoon, I counted only fifteen occupied sites out of fifty. Later in the day a couple more RVs arrived. The park remains very quiet and empty.

Traffic in the canal was a little more active today. I saw two boats get locked through the Ortona Lock. That is double the number I saw yesterday. The difference in the activity level from the winter level continues to surprise me. Last time I was here in March I observed several lock transits a day many with multiple boats in the lock.

This afternoon I made a run into LaBelle for groceries. The Walmart on the far side of town was very busy. The aisles were very congested with customers and staff stocking shelves. The vacant space on the shelves provided clear evidence that the store had been busy all day. The good thing is that this Walmart had far more assisted checkout lanes than self service. The assisted lanes were even had staff present to work the registers.