.

February 8, 2013 Day 273

Franklin Lock Corps of Engineers Campground
Alva, FL
Total miles to date: 4635.9

Today was a relaxing and interesting day. After a late breakfast, we went for a walk around the RV campground.  Every site is booked well into the spring - this is a well maintained and attractive area.  We are glad we decided to spend a second night here. 

Carried Away at the Franklin Dock

A friendly bull!

After we stopped at the gate and paid for our second day of dockage, we walked down the entry road to a farm.  We saw several bulls, but one was totally by himself. It did not take much encouragement for him to walk up to the fence to see us! That is a first for us to do that!

We turned back toward our dock and spotted our first alligator swimming nearby.  We were later told he lives here!  He must have been 10 feet long. 

We met some of the other boaters and campers and even some local people who had wandered over to sit by the water.

Bill worked on chart plotting as we plan to depart tomorrow. We will go to Moore Haven on the Caloosahatchee River. We are slowly working our way to Lake Okeechobee. Within a few days we will be on the east coast of Florida.

Any gator fans?

After dinner we spotted the alligator again – out for an evening swim past our boat.  We will likely see more of them in the next few days.