Paddling is one of my favorite activities and it’s been over two weeks since I’ve been in my canoe. I was at the NEED to paddle stage. I have wanted to see how easy it would be to visit the new Anahuac Refuge Visitor Center by water. So I decided today would be a great day for a paddle to the Visitor Center. I put in at White’s Bayou at White’s Bayou Park, up near I-10 on FM 562 and paddled the few feet into Turtle Bayou.
The nature music was wonderful. Cicadas chorused and various birds gave solo performances. The northern parula sang his zzzzzzz-up song. Prothonotaries were sweet, sweet, sweeting, and cardinals caroled. White-eyed vireos, and what might have been a Philadelphia vireo added their songs. Chickadees sang their cherry tune. Little blue herons, snowy egrets, great blue herons fished or flew silently but the green herons called their gulping call when they flew.
Overhead, a great blue heron, a great egret, black vultures and royal terns flew on the strengthening wind against beautiful clouds. The shores were beautiful in all the different colors of green from the bright light green of willows to the darker greens of ashes and cypress. In some places, there were even tall pine trees that spread their needle leaves against clouds and blue sky. Buttonbush was blooming in abundance. What a wonderful day and perfect place to be.
Alas, I hadn’t done my homework and checked the wind speed and direction, (SW 15- 25 miles with higher gusts) and as I approached the entrance to Lake Anahuac, I saw foot-high rollers coming into the Bayou. I would have to paddle sideways to them or do a long, hard, paddle tacking out into them and then riding them into to my proposed landing. I hadn’t brought a dry bag for my camera so decided to eschew the lake this day. I beached my canoe and did a little walk in the shallow water at lake’s edge before setting off to paddle back to the landing. I considered a paddle up or down White’s Bayou but I was paddling fast enough to not be able to feel a cool breeze and the day was already getting hot. So I came home, ate lunch and took a nap. A great way to spend a day off from watering.
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| Put-in at White's Bayou |
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| Shore side on Turtle Bayou |
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| Remains of an old bridge just east of FM 563 |
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| Buttonbush Blooms |
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| Turtle Bayou View |
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| Entrance to Lake Anahuac |
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| Windy day at Lake Anahuac |
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| Fishing Green Heron |
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| Cypress knee forest |
You make me feel like I was there, listening to the birds and seeing the interesting vegetation. Even though you had to cut it short, it was a wonderful paddle.
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