Gail
arrived a little before 9 a.m. and by 9:20, we were on the road with me
driving; south on Rte. 1 in Stuart and right on Rte. 714. Within a short time,
the three lane divided highway narrowed and soon it was a simple two lane road.
Stores and businesses gave way to more open land. The sides of the roads were
lined with palm and other vegetation, but in spaces, I could see farms and fenced
in countryside. Florida is so flat. You can see for miles if nothing is in the
way.
It
was nice to be able to pull off the road to take pictures. There are cattle
ranches and horse ranches. I would love to visit one. As we headed west, trees
spread their limbs over the road. Even though I was driving, I hadn’t felt so
relaxed in days. Ahhhh, this is the kind of driving I like through quiet
countryside.
The
temperatures had reached 80 degrees by the time we reached Okeechobee. We had
picked up Rte. 710N to Rte. 70S then onto Rte 441/98S. At an intersection with
the choice to go right or left, I cut into the right lane after being in the
left because I saw a brown sign indicating a scenic area. This was the top of
the lake and we couldn’t see any water because of the tall dike. We drove up
the lane over the dike into a parking area just down a bit on the other side.
Oh,
wow! What beautiful blue water with a long pier at the end of which was a
pavilion. To the right and left of the covered part, the pier extended further
like a big T with the pavilion at the intersection. We started out onto the
boards. It was at least fifteen feet about the water. The shoreline to about
thirty feet out was grasses and water vegetation. I photographed a black ibis
(are there black ones or would this be a glossy ibis?), egrets, green herons, a
tri-colored heron, great blue heron, and various other birds.
Suddenly,
all the huge flock of terns and gulls that were in the parking lot took flight.
Then the ibis and some of the other birds while others hunkered down in the
weeks. My attention caught, I looked to see what made them all take flight. Ohhh,
what’s that bird with a white head? Is it? I focused the lens of the camera. It
IS! It’s a bald eagle; not a very big one, but there was the bald head and
white on the tail. Wow! He finally flew to the top of one of the light poles
giving me a better look.
We
moved out to the top of the T, I took scenery photos and of a couple of
pigeons. We were surprised to see two lone pigeons hanging out with all the
wading birds. I really liked this place. People were fishing from the pier and
one old guy had one of those seated walkers. We took our time walking back to
the truck. I was reluctant to leave this beautiful place.
There
is a hiking/biking trail that runs the entire perimeter (or so I understand) of
the lake. That’s right along the top of the dike. How brutal in the sun with no
shade. Yet, there were people up there walking, joking, and biking.
Turning
right onto Rte. 441/98S, we continued along the lake. Not much can be seen
because of the dike. There was a canal that ran alongside it. Between the canal
and the highway, were seedy looking mobile home parks after mobile home parks.
Some advertised RV Camping. We came to another scenic view pull off and stopped
for more photos.
The
next stop was a small gas station/Subway to use the facilities. We got subs and
snacks and at the next scenic pull off, found a spot of shade just big enough
to fit the truck and we had a nice picnic. After eating, we got out for more
picturing taking. I found some big snail shells (big compared to what we find
in N.H.) Gail washed them out because one was full of ants. We found four, two
for each of us.
There
were palm tree farms on both sides of the road as we continued our journey. The
trailer parks gave way to nice little homes on one side and ranches on the
other. The highway we would take back to the coast was coming along soon, but
not before a huge bridge and another scenic pull off. I spent quite awhile at
this place taking photos; not only of the scenery, but there were some great
lines and angles which is one of my themes that I am working on. We finally got
back on the road and went over the bridge. That gave me another place to pull
over long enough for some bridge shots.
Rte.
76 saw heavier truck traffic. I stopped at a couple of abandoned places, but
somehow, the buildings just didn’t do it for me. I did find a train trestle
that was unique as it seemed like a drawbridge. Train tracks like the roads in
Florida are straight for as far as the eye can see.
We
finally made our way back to the hotel about 3 p.m. It was a good day. The kind
of peaceful sightseeing that I find refreshing and inspiring.
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