W.P. Franklin near Fort Myers

We arrived at the Corps of Engineers campground after our 2 hour drive plus a stop to grocery shop just as our sites current occupant left.

This campground is on an island in the Caloosahatchee River right at a navigation lock.

It is a small campground and like the FL State Parks is almost impossible to get a campsite. You need to try 6 months in advance at exactly 10:00:00 AM. So last September after trying for 8 straight days, we snagged this site. All the sites are on the water with concrete pads and covered picnic tables.

My back is starting to feel better but I had another camper help me get the canoe down, where it will remain until we leave.

When we looked across the river we saw these two bald eagles watching us set up camp.

This part of FL has gotten over 12” of rain in the past month, so all the rivers were up and Lake Okeechobee which is the source of the river is full and they are releasing a lot of water. But it is a big river and we didn’t think the current was that swift.

But the little Telegraph Creek, where we had paddled in the past, was roaring. We remembered it as a 5’ wide creek running though some farm land. The last time we actually saw a rare Florida Panther laying on a tree above the creek. This time we did see a big group of Llamas at the farm. We only made it about halfway and the hanging branches and fast current made us turn around after 1-1/2 hours. It took us only 45 minutes to get back to camp and we barely paddled at all. The weather has finally warmed to near 80^o F but it is still very cloudy. Our plans are to relax here for two weeks before heading to thae east coast. We plan to paddle & bike around the area.