Mornings can start hazy at Westgate Resort's River Ranch.

"Just like it was when the cowboys were here,” said Ben Heilman, an airboat captain at the Westgate River Ranch.

As the fog burns off, folks come for a ride down Florida's river of time. Grab someone you love and hold on tight. There’s no seatbelts on these airboats.

Captain Ben began piloting airboats at age 16.

"[My] first airboat cost $300, this one costs $60,000. They have changed a little bit,” he said with a smile while standing proudly in front of the airboat he currently drives.

Along the Kissimmee River by airboat, you'll find grazing cattle and much more.

"There is an alligator nest in here. But it should have been hatched by now,” Ben shouted over the fan blades in the rear.

"You're just gliding atop the water. You get that wind blowing in your face and your hair. And it's exciting,” shared Lakeland passenger Deedra Knight.

Captain Ben takes passengers like Deedra for a ride on what looks to be a straight highway made of water. The 300-foot-wide waterway didn't happen naturally.

Between 1962 and 1971, the Army Corps of Engineers dug a 30-foot deep channel through the Kissimmee River. The idea was to provide a place for storm water to go following a hurricane. However, it proved disastrous for the environment. That's why in 1999, a restoration project began that will once again allow the Kissimmee River to run wild.

"They restored 67 miles of the Kissimmee River to its original state,” Ben shared with riders. Portions of the water highway are now filled in, allowing the Kissimmee River to again wind and bend as nature would have it.

When you think you've reached a dead end along the route, Captain Ben knows when to turn.

"Twenty five years in the same place, you kinda figure it out,” he said with a grin. “It’s gorgeous out there."

Tankful on Television
Live in a Bright House? You can catch new Florida on a Tankful stories each Thursday through Sunday on News 13 and Bay News 9. New editions play at the end of each hour starting at 6 a.m. and run through the afternoon.