Lakeport, FL

Our first day was spent traveling to Lakeport on the west side of Lake Okeechobee. You don’t actually get to see the lske becausd the Army Corps of Engineers has built a levee all around the lake for flood control. So the bike path sits on top of the levee but a distance from the edge of the lake. On the other side is a canal which carries irrigation water to the sugar cane fields and other agricultural needs. It’s quite an elaborate setup. We walked almost six miles in the heat.  We found a shady spot on the edge of the canal to setup our campsite. We were hopeful that they wouldn’t send us packing since we weren’t in an actual campground.  I took a dip in the canal to cool off and it was very refreshing.  It was my first time pitching this tent, an ultra light silicon single wall which was very easy to set up and very roomy inside. The air mattress seems comfortable enough although quite narrow so I stuffed it into my sleeping bag so that at least it and my bag will remain as one unit.  I spent weeks preparing the meals for our trip and sending packages ahead for resupplyimg. We had a snag with one post office that wouldn’t accept a UPS parcel.  Other post offices don’t seem to have that issue.  So our meals consist of oatmeal for breakfast and either red beans and rice with sausage, Thsi noodles and chicken with peanut sauce, chicken curry or a quinoa and rice in tomato sauce.  We’re filtering all our water and using alcohol stoves.  Alan is quite experienced in the gear so has made my entree into backpacking a lot smoother.  I’ll upload photos when I get to a spot with Wi-fi. We’re usung a solar charger to top off our phones each day, so I’m trying to conserve on my battery usage.