Our first stop was Caddo Lake State Park. I wanted to check out the campground and see the beautiful cypress trees in the sloughs.
Many of the park roads were one way and several were quite steep (for this flatlander), but the trees were beautiful and the park was very quiet.
We wanted to go on the pontoon boat tour, but couldn't quite figure out what time the next tour was.... wonder if they even remembered that sign was up there? Thank goodness there was a white board with tour times and prices listed.
We had some time before the next tour, so we ate our picnic lunch and looked around a little. You can see the pontoon boat at the end of the pier. The cove around the pier was very scenic. I think I took nearly half of my keeper shots from this area.
I was able to sit in the very front of the boat (not many people want the sun beating down on them), so this was the view leaving the cove. Although some of the vegetation on the water (giant salvia, hyacinth) are very invasive (some can create critical situations) - they sure do add to the photographic image. The water was very still and dark and we were lucky to miss the rain that was in the forecast.
We made our way back to boat road "C" - we saw several people fishing and a few canoes - more lovely cypress trees, herons, blooming hyacinths, and even a water snake (swimming along the shore). This was not an interpretive tour, but it was still nice to just see parts of the lake. There are other tours but this is the only one that leaves from within the state park.
There were some very interesting tree knee formations - cypress trees have "knees" - I'm not an expert, so I don't know if this formation is a sign of water levels/drought or if it is just formed by chance. The knees I usually see are much shorter (just tall enough to stumble over) and are spaced out around the tree like you would expect roots to be.
The butterflies and dragonflies seemed unusually friendly in this park (maybe they are remembering the term Tejas - thought to mean friend). This snout butterfly wouldn't leave my daughter's bracelet; when he finally did a dragonfly landed on her shoes and stayed there (maybe he was hitching a ride).
The next day we took another boat ride up the Sabine River - some parts of this river form the natural boundary between Texas and Louisiana. Again the river was very calm - water like glass. We were out before the other boaters (aka crazy people) and only disturbed the herons and sunbathing turtles. Nothing unusual to see, but was still a nice boat ride.
A lot of images with this post, but I did see a lot of beautiful scenery - Caddo Lake has a very interesting history and the state park was one that the CCC was involved in, but didn't get a chance to build as many structures as in other parks. It is still a beautiful place to visit - the park staff said October is a very busy time - visitors come to see the fall colors. They also have a great park store - books about the CCC, the state park system, wildlife management areas, and others that I haven't seen anywhere else. My sister and I had fun browsing the books (we are such nerds!!), and I managed to only buy two (this time).
Hope everyone recovered from their weekend. The school routine is almost here and in this household we are fighting it every step of the way - we love our summertime togetherness.
For more information on Caddo Lake State park, visit their website at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/caddo-lake
For more information on the CCC and Texas state parks, visit this website.
Great place for taking photos. I have never visited a place like that but hope to make it one day.
ReplyDeleteSo many places to visit and so little time (trying not to think about money at all). ;)
Such a beautiful wetland!
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