Lake Okeechobee, FL

[DonTom]

Lake Okeechobee cannot be seen from the US 441 SE Hwy. But it can be easily driven to at several places from 441, where it can be seen. There is a small hill between the lake and 441, but it's only a small fraction of a mile to get there from several places on US 441. I can walk there from here, and there is a paved foot trail around the entire lake. The trail is 110 miles, part of it is paved for bicycles.

This is Florida's largest lake and the one that feeds the Everglades. Cannot see the opposite side, way too large of a lake.

So here is what the lake looks like on a cheap camera by somebody (me) who has no idea how to take a decent picture with a camera. I just ain't all that picky about much of anything, so really don't care as long as can share a rough idea what it looks like:

-Don- Lake Okeechobee, FL

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

That small hill is a levee (dike) to keep the lake from periodically flooding the surroundings.

 

[DonTom]

That small hill is a levee (dike) to keep the lake from periodically flooding the surroundings.

Yeah, I kinda assumed it was a man-made thing for that purpose. I wonder what the lake looked like before that. Perhaps this area was flooded often.

-Don- Okeechobee, FL

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Hurricanes and even Florida's routine torrential rains often caused major flooding. From what I've read, the south shore of the lake didn't have a distinct edge - it just degraded to a swamp that ran all the way to Biscayne Bay (Miami area). There were over 2500 deaths due to hurricanes in the 1920's. The 60+ mile Herbert Hoover Dike was initially built 1932-1938 and eventually expanded to 143 miles surrounding the entire lake.

 

[DonTom]

I went on a five mile afternoon hike (round trip)today next to the lake, says my GPS (2.5 miles one way). I went north after I crossed the river. One thing nice about this RV Park is that it is the closest to where I can get to the lake across the river that's in the way otherwise. The trail here is paved, and I saw a few bicycles on it. I don't care much for paved trails, so I mostly hiked next to the vegatation where I am more likely to see some small wildlife, which I did. I came across a pair of Nine-Banded Armadillos. One of them hid in the bushes as soon as I came to take a look. But the other didn't care that I was there and just ignored me as I took some photos:

-Don- Okeechobee, FL

 

[LarsMac]

Yeah, I kinda assumed it was a man-made thing for that purpose. I wonder what the lake looked like before that. Perhaps this area was flooded often.

-Don- Okeechobee, FL

Everything south of Orlando used to be swampland, before the Army Corps of Engineers started digging canals and building levees.

 

[DonTom]

Some other stuff I saw was a few dead turtles and I wonder what happened as they were all found belly up, except for the Mud Turtle. I think the large ones are the Peninsular Cooter, but I am no expert on the many turtles here in the SE. I wonder if it could be from TBV.

I also found a Striped Mud Turtle, all boxed up, I thought it could be alive but it was also dead with the guts rotting.

-Don- Okeechobee, FL

 

[DonTom]

Here is what the paved trail looks like that does the 110 miles around the lake:


Here is a bird on a post on the trail:



Here is my RV Park from the other side of the river (My RV cannot be seen here hidden by another):



Here is where I mostly did my hiking today:


-Don- Okeechobee, FL

 

[LarsMac]

I grew up not far East of there.

 

[DonTom]

I took a hike south this time, about the same distance. I saw many more dead turtles. None that were alive. Perhaps this is the issue:

" The mud contained elevated levels of arsenic and other pesticides. According to tests from the South Florida Water Management District, arsenic levels on the northern part of the lake bed were as much as four times the limit for residential land. Independent tests found the mud too polluted for use on agricultural or commercial lands, and therefore difficult to dispose of on land."

-Don- Okeechobee, FL

 

[DonTom]

Everything south of Orlando used to be swampland, before the Army Corps of Engineers started digging canals and building levees.

IOW, what took Mother Nature millions of years to develop, man was able to destroy in a few years.

Only about a fifth of the original Everglades still exists and there are NO others anything like it anywhere in the entire world.

-Don- Okeechobee, FL

 

[SeilerBird]

If you want to know more about the rape of Florida I suggest reading Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. It will make you weep.

 

[DonTom]

If you want to know more about the rape of Florida

I already know more about it than I really want to know.

At this point, probably cannot ever be fixed.

-Don- Okeechobee, FL

 

[Becks]

We spent the winter their 3 years ago in Bell Glade. It is an interesting area.

 

[DonTom]

We spent the winter their 3 years ago in Bell Glade. It is an interesting area.

I will have to save the southern part of the lake for another trip. I never want to see everything on one trip, so I can go back to something new next time I am in the same general area.

-Don- Okeechobee, FL