Saturday was a beautiful day and thoughts of recent stressful events weighed heavily on my mind. I needed to "get the hell out of Dodge" as I call it when things are bothering me and I need to seek solace in more peaceful surroundings. The plan was to take a lawn chair to Lake Ray Roberts and just relax. We never did use the lawn chairs!
The Texas Parks and Wildlife department runs many Texas State Parks. Unlike in neighboring states, admission is charged per adult to enter the state parks. The fee varies from park to park, anywhere from $2 per person up to $5 per person. (For $5 a person I expect something spectacular like Palo Duro Canyon!)
Lake Ray Roberts State Park between Pilot Point, Texas and Sanger, Texas was of the $5 variety. Why I don't know! There was certainly nothing outstanding in the way of scenery. The only possible explanation is that the park was HEAVILY used. We were there on a windy day; the wind whipping off the lake made the temperature in the upper 60s feel much cooler. But there were people boating, sail boarding, fishing, canoeing, hiking, riding bike trails, riding the equestrian trails, picnicking, and camping. I was there to take photos and relax. We walked around some of the picnic areas and followed a bit along the cement pathways (not my idea of very rustic; even the bike trails were paved in concrete).
The lake itself is nice enough as far as lakes go. The water level was high and the wind was causing white caps far from the shoreline. I preferred the quiet inlets.
Eventually we exited the main park and ventured to the park on the other side of the dam. The lake is a result of damming the Elm Fork of the Trinity River so on the south end of the lake we again found the river. It too was swollen after all the autumnal rains we've experienced, but a quiet canoe launch lured us to its offered calming sights.
And then as fate would have it, things took a turn toward the adventurous. The canoe launch was actually a set of stairs leading to the water. We walked down to the river level.
Testosterone took over or perhaps it was an unfulfilled secret desire from childhood that he wanted to be just like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn... who knows!!
First he found a couple of abandoned fishing hooks (including a sinker?) near the railing, as well as one of those rubber worm things. Then he noticed a length of fishing line. He tied the line to the hook and said he needed a stick. As he foraged on the other side of the railing for an appropriate stick, he spied a discarded or lost bobber floating in the water near the edge. After a bit of coaxing he was able to rescue it from the river. In a few minutes he had a line on an improvised pole all rigged up. About that time he noticed a dead minnow floating near the steps of the canoe launch. Using that as bait, he tossed the hook into the river. Just when I finished teasing him about having to go without supper because he hadn't caught our meal, the bobber went under the surface a couple of times and this is what he found when he pulled his line from the water......a white bass.
We laughed so hard!!! The fish was released back into its habitat since we were not exactly prepared to clean and then transport fish.
But Tom Sawyer wasn't yet sated. He found a piece of a dead minnow on the steps and again baited his hook. Now, I firmly believe in that lightening-never-strikes-twice rule, but I'll be danged if within a few minutes another fish hadn't taken the hook! This one managed to escape from the hook and leap back into the water before I could get the camera pointed its direction. At this point I had no option but to agree that my Tom Sawyer had proven he was a capable provider. I felt just like I should be Becky Thatcher looking up through fluttering eyelashes. TOO FUNNY!!
Tempting fate a third time, all that remained for bait was the plastic worm left by the previous owners of the now well-proven hook. After a good 20 minutes of attempting to snag yet another fish, Tom Sawyer decided these fish preferred dining on minnows and we called it a day.
Some memories were made. Some stories were written. Some laughs were shared. Some photos were taken. Life doesn't get much better than this!
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