Lake Ouachita - Tompkins Bend

We got up to Lake Ouachita at Tompkins Bend COE campground around 3 PM. It was about 80 degrees with the wind blowing off of the lake. Our campsite #3 was on the lake in a little cove area. We got everything all set up hardly breaking a sweat because it was so cool. That was quite a change from the normal 90-98 degree heat of summer.






Once we got things settled in, I took the kayak out for a while. This was the first time that I had kayaked on this lake. It is a very large lake, crystal clear in the morning, but as the day goes on, the banks get cloudy. The lake is built on clay and rock, so the clay makes the water a little cloudy because there are a lot of boats motoring here and there on the lake.


The lake is surrounded by the Ouachita Mountains, and the scenery is just beautiful. I did not see many animals, but the lake is a wonderful place to boat on. And the sunsets are ok. The first night I stayed out until about 8:30 waiting for the sun to set. It was a pretty sunset.








When the sun finally set it was pretty spectacular. I could see it slowly moving below the clouds until it finally went below the horizon.

















I made my way back to camp and had a great night's sleep. We were able to keep the pop-up windows down and got a great cool breeze all night long. It felt like spring! As a matter of fact I got a little cold! After we ate breakfast the next morning, I went out for a short time. I saw a blue heron and tried to follow it as it flew from one place to another. You could tell that the birds were not used to seeing people. They were very skittish, and no matter how I tried to get close, they flew away.




I went back in about 11 AM because we were going to check out another COE campground on the lake called Brady Mountain. We had heard a lot of good things about it, so we headed over there and besides, we wanted to eat out and they had a lodge restaurant. It was about 18 miles to the turnoff and another 6 miles up a winding road to get to the campground. It was a nice campground...VERY BIG...with probably about 75 camping areas, but the scenery is spectacular!




This part of the lake is very wide and has islands that you can get out to. I think that would be fun to do in the future! There was a path down to a beach area, so Dad and I went down the path. It was 112 stairs down to a rock beach. We left Mom at the top because she has problems going down stairs without a rail to help her. When we got to the bottom it was a beautiful little beach area with a panoramic view of the lake.




I noticed when I took the picture of Dad that his knees were a bit "dirty"... Well, there was a reason...my camper has a 3 burner stove that I use to cook on all the time. Mike had gotten me a new regulator for it a few weeks ago because it stopped working last time we went camping. Well...when I went to cook on the stove...it would not work. So Dad kept working on it trying to get it to work...he never got it to work so I guess I will have to buy a good camp stove as the Brinkman that I have is awful. That Brinkman stove has no flame control at all which is important when you are cooking! I don't really want to bring my trailer in to the dealership since it will probably cost a lot more than a new Coleman stove would be...

I found a really odd looking flower growing in the rocky soil of the beach. Very odd...I think it's tendrils were sticky...if you look closely you can see a fly caught in some of them.











We finally got back up the 112 stairs (Dad counted them)...we got our exercise for the day! Then we went to eat. After eating we drove in to Hot Springs so I could look in a kayak shop there. It was fun seeing all of the different kayaks. I bought a pad for my back so I could change my back position on the long paddles.





After shopping for a while, we headed back to camp where I took a short rest in my favorite hammock (Dad's hammock that he used on the ship during WWII). That hammock has seen some years go by, but it is still a great hammock to lay your head on!




I went out kayaking for a while and saw a few green herons. This one found something in the water, caught and ate it. I think it was a frog, but I could not get a close enough look. I had brought my Nikon with me, but forgot the telephoto!

















The vultures were having a great time feasting on a dead catfish. They stayed with that fish so I was able to get pretty close!





I saw a few more, then I decided to go back in to cook supper. After supper I went out for a sunset tour of the south end of the lake. That was the prettiest area for pictures because it had a nice island that I could put in the shot.

It was a nice sunset...lots of golden colors.





On the way back to camp, I picked up a dragonfly who was floating upside down in the water. I did not know if it was injured or not, but I thought I would give it a chance.


I tried to get a good picture of it, but I wasn't really satisfied with what I got...Oh well...I tried.


The next morning after breakfast I took the kayak out for one last trip. I paddled all the way to Joplin which is about 16 miles from our campground by road, but I think it was about 4 miles by water. I had a great time, but boy did I get sunburned! I never thought to put on sunscreen since I don't usually burn, but it was a hot one that day, so I kept splashing water on me to cool off...

We go to Mill Creek, Missouri in September. August is so hot that I don't think I will camp at all that month...so I will just try to kayak every weekend around here.

Well, until next time... Happy Kayaking!
Cathy