Caddo Lake State Park

After several days of cold rain and sleet I gave up on backpacking into the Big Thicket and headed on to Caddo Lake State Park. I got a bit of a break the first evening and morning…skies were overcast, but no rain.

I spent the morning hiking before the rains started again, so I can show a few pictures. First, the “lake”… I didn’t realize that Caddo Lake State Park is not actually on Lake Caddo, and the canoe rental that would have allowed me to get there was closed. I don’t think they thought there was anyone crazy enough to visit the park this time of year. I was the only one camping there. There has been so much rain, large areas of the park were under water, and you can see the colors ranged from brown water to brown trees giving little contrast with gray skies. I even digitally brightened the pictures, if you can believe it.

Then, the trail; more brown. There were some interesting birds, but I don’t have enough zoom or definition to capture any worthwhile pictures of them. Finally, something that wasn’t brown or gray-the Christmas fern, so named because it is evergreen. I could have given you pines, but I figured you’ve all seen enough of them.

After another 24 hours of rain and reports of more icy weather on the way, I moved on. So now I’m snuggled into a hotel in Hope, Arkansas, birthplace of Bill Clinton. My plan is to catch a little basketball, a little football and services at the Hope Church of Christ while I wait out the weather and make further plans. I’m thinking of moving a bit faster to North Carolina because of the weather and the fact that most of the scenic parks seem to be hibernating.