Lake Bistineau - August 20, 2006

Don and Susie wanted to look at a house for sale on Lake Bistineau, so we decided to bring the kayaks and go paddling while we were there. It was soooooo hot that we really should have stayed home, but we went anyway. The car temp said it was 100 degrees when we got to the state park where we were going to put in. And the park is not on the open part of the lake, it is on a very tree filled part, so we could not count on any breeze to help cool us off. We put in about 5:30 PM, so the sun was pretty high and boy was it hot.


But as we went from the park down to the bridge we saw quite a bit of wildlife, so I just tried to ignore the heat.


The water was filled with yucky dead and rotting hydrilla. They have drained the lake for the last two years and so as it filled up over the winter time the dead plants just rotted in the water. So it was not exactly a nice place to paddle.


We weren't sure that we would make it to the bridge because the hydrilla that was not killed in the drain off was everywhere blocking the way, but Don went ahead and found a decent pathway for us to follow through the stuff.


We rested under the bridge for a bit to cool off. It was pretty hot still and I was not about to take water from the lake and splash it on myself like I usually do. No telling what bugs/bacteria would be in it. So I took my drinking water and poured some on myself. That felt pretty good.

As I was resting, a dragonfly decided he needed to rest too and lit on my kayak just long enough for me to take a picture.

After we rested a bit we headed back to the park.

I saw a blackish small bird so I went closer to see if I could get a picture. I thought maybe it was some type of black bird until I got the camera on him, but then I saw that it was a green heron. I was too far away to get a really good picture (reminder to self...get a teleconverter!).


The egrets were everywhere, and I saw a whitish bird in the distance and I started trying to get closer. Susie (whose eyes are much better than my expensive lasik fixed eyes) said, Hey that one looks different from all the others. I zoomed in and...it was not an egret!

It was a juvenile blue heron...my first! I was thrilled!

I wish that I had been able to get closer, but the water got too shallow and it was filled with the hydrilla and grass. But I was just pleased that I saw it.

I looked a couple of hundred yards away from that and saw another blue, but it was almost all blue. And I definitely could not get real close to this one. Oh well....at least I got one good bird picture!


Susie was close and she said that she saw something moving on the distant shore, so I looked and sure enough there was a doe coming down for water. It was too far away to get a good shot even with the telephoto, but I am posting a few pictures anyway. It's not every day that I get to take pictures of a deer!




When I looked up Don was out of sight and Susie was pretty far away too, so I gave it up and headed back to the car.


As we were putting the kayaks on the trailer, Susie said look...another deer, and sure enough there was another doe feeding on the bushes across from the dock. But by the time I got my camera back out of the car, it had just about disappeared into the bushes. So I missed that one.

All in all the Lake Bistineau trip was very hot...it had nasty water...I think we almost all got heat stroke...BUT I saw a bird I had never seen...so it was worth it for me! I told Don and Susie...we go to Caddo or Cross Lake from now on if it is close to 100 degrees! No more small bodies of water with no lake effect cooling breeze! And when we got our yaks out of the water you could see the scum built up on the sides of our boats. So we will have to wash them good before we take them elsewhere. We certainly don't want to spread that stuff around!

Well...that's it for this report... Hope to go somewhere again next weekend. I am looking forward to September 8th when we go up to Table Rock Lake in Missouri for a few days.

Until next time...

Cathy

Caddo Lake - August 12, 2006

Well, it was 100 Degrees here today, but we decided to make the trip out to Caddo Lake anyway. We hooked up the trailer to haul Don and Susie's kayaks and of course mine was already on top of the 4Runner. We arrived at Caddo Lake State Park about 5 PM. The car thermometer said 99 degrees. We got everything unloaded and the yaks carried down to the water. Don and I decided to take a short swim first to cool off. The water was extremely brown because the waves were really kicking up the dirt in the water. We loaded into the kayaks and took off, going a different direction than last time. It was extremely challenging!



There were a lot of times that the waves would break over the sides or stern of the kayak. Don thought it might be fun to go into the cypress trees and ride the waves. He said it was fun, so I tried it...it was fun...just had to make sure that I didn't run into to any trees!



The wind on the water was so nice. Even though the waves were awesome, it kept the sun from being so hot. So it was really quite enjoyable. But next time, when we decide to go to Caddo, I think I will take some Dramamine before heading out! Those waves were so high at times that I felt myself getting a wee bit seasick!



We paddled around until around 6:30 then decided to head back to the dock. It was quite a nice workout paddling in the waves. I tried to take a few pictures of some birds that I saw during the paddle, but we were moving so much vertically that the pictures all turned out pretty blurry. I did get one on a post, but it was pretty unspectacular...so...No birdies this time...



But I did catch Don outlined by the sun as he rested before heading in to the dock.



All in all, it was loads of fun! I just love getting out on or into the water!
Well, until next time...

Happy Kayaking!
Cathy

Cross Lake - August 8, 2006

Went kayaking Tuesday evening after I got off work... I just had to get out on the water since I had not been in a week and a half. It was a very hot day. Even when we were out on the water the temperature was still 90 degrees at 7 PM.

Even the water was hot. Little Bit likes to get on the front of the yak to see better, but he always falls off after he is there for a while. I will have to see if Dad can build me a stand of some sort to allow him to stay up there without slipping in to the water.

He is so cute after he falls out and gets wet! His hair just sticks up everywhere!

Out on bird island there were a lot of egrets, and immature herons.

I think the birds below are the same baby birds that I took a picture of in early July. The green legs and where they are hanging out are the same! I think they are immature green herons.





I guess these are immature blue herons? But they are certainly NOT blue at all. They are very brown/red.

I caught this heron in the treetop with an egret behind him and one landing.

Well, even though it was way hot, it was still great to get out on the water. Being there always helps me relax and replenish my spirit.


It will be nice to kayak when the temperature goes down a bit. I am looking forward to September when we will take a camping trip up into Missouri. We plan on going to Mill Creek on Table Rock Lake. It is a great campground and a wonderful lake. We plan on being up there when some gospel singers are camping there. Last year when we were there the campground hosts told us that the singers held impromptu sing-a-longs and concerts each night during the time that they are there so Mom and Dad are really looking forward to it.

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

Caney Lake July 29, 2006

We went to Caney Lake a few weekends ago and I am just getting around to posting the pictures. The lake was a real disappointment. It was so full of weeds and plant growth that it was very difficult to paddle. We only stayed about an hour and then left. I have a lot of great memories from camping on this lake and getting out in Dad's pirogue, but we probably won't go back unless something is done to stop the growth of the weeds in the lake. What a shame. It was a beautiful lake and still could be. Even with the weed growth the lake itself is crystal clear.


The flowers were quite pretty though.







There was a storm that came up just as we got there, so we had some interesting cloud and light shows.





It may very well be a sad end for a wonderful place for families to camp and have fun. I hope the National Forest officials will do something to help save the lake before it is too late.

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