Relaxin' ...

A week of kickin'-it on Caddo Lake; y'all
 remember ... home is where you make it.

     Howdy, y’all!  It’s been awhile, but I just got back from a week in the swamp with my beautiful bride and two other couples.  This was one of the most relaxin’ trips we’ve taken in quite some time; we had booked The Gallery at Spatterdock in Uncertain, Texas from Billy & Dottie Carter.  All I can say is that the property was absolutely gorgeous, and we were not disappointed with anything.  Billy & Dottie are wonderful hosts and longtime Uncertain residents; Billy is a fishin’ & swamp tour guide on Caddo Lake, and Dottie is a multi-talented artist who has done all of the decoratin’ for their properties, as well as the lanscapin’ & gardens.  If anyone is lookin’ for a quiet and remote escape, I would highly recommend checkin’ ‘em out at http://www.spatterdock.com/.  We were so impressed with the facilities and amenities that we’ve already booked the same place for a week next year!

 

Ty & "Dad" discussin' whatever at the Wangdoodle ...

     We had met with one couple from Plano, TX and another couple from just outside of Conway, AR who were all college friends of my wife from her University of Central Arkansas days.  We had no agenda other than to enjoy each other’s company with beautiful Caddo Lake as our backdrop.  On our second day there, I had divided us into two groups and ferried everyone for a couple of “swamp tours” via our bass boat.  The lake was quite peaceful durin’ the week with little or no boat traffic.  Each trip lasted about 2½ to 3 hours, and even after a heavy coatin’ of BullFrog SPF 40 … I had pretty much-well fried the tops of my legs & knees.  The temps were in the mid to high 70’s durin’ the day, but got down to as low as 38° each night.  The water level was back up and there was no sign of any giant salvinia … other than its rottin’ remnants in the back of Carter Lake.  Due to the large amounts of these submerged mounds of dead invasive, my engine clogged a few times and I had to abandon my original plan of motoring all the way into Back Lake.  Maybe sometimes, things happen for a reason ...

     There was no moon on this trip, which made my third excursion into the swamp a bit more challengin’.  I took three of our guests on an extended night trip through the swamps beginnin’ about 9:30 P.M. and we did not return until well after 1:00 A.M.  I was both shocked and amazed by the void of wildlife; no bugs, no frogs, no snakes, no coons, no gators, beavers, minx or nutria.  The only wildlife we had witnessed was a couple of bats which swooped through the beam of my remote-controlled GoLight.  Come to think of it, we didn’t even see or hear any barred owls until we returned to Spatterdock.  This was the first time in my 4+ years of swampin’ at night on Caddo that this had happened.  The cold-front most probably had somethin’ to do with it, but it was just downright eerie not seein’ or hearin’ any of the local critters.  I’d love to tell y’all that this may have been due to the possible presence of wood apes, but the overly-dramatic will play no role in this-here blog.  Period.

Dawn patrol! Now, this is what I call mornin' glory ... ain't it cool?

     Even the fishin’ was off for this time of year; and I mean way off!  This could have been in-part due to the overly-stocked bar that we had maintained back at The Gallery, but I’d rather blame it on the cold-front.  The lily pads were just now comin’ up, which was well overdue for late April.  Billy Carter had even said that the unusually cold and extended winter had thrown-off the largemouth bass spawn.  Them Caddo Lake bass were still on their beds and as tight-lipped as a picker on a prime patch of May haw.  On one of the last evenin’s we were there, I had fished alone in Turtle Shell right at sundown, which was one of my regular haunts.  I actually started to hear bullfrogs croakin’ in the distance; so I had thought, why not … I’ll just throw me a large top-water frog.  Hell, I actually got a few blow-ups on that lure, but they were all hittin’ short and not actually takin’ the bait.  The water was both glass-smooth and crystal-clear; as I reared back to make an extended cast … the water directly behind me exploded!  It sounded like someone had rolled a friggin’ bowlin’ ball off of my transom, as I had evidently spooked a very large bass hidin’ just under the ledge of vegetation linin’ that boat road.  Hopefully, she’ll still be lurkin’ ‘round there and hungry on my next trip!

Southern pride in historic downtown Jefferson ...

     On Wednesday, we all loaded-up into our truck and headed for historic Jefferson, Texas … which was only a 30-minute drive from Uncertain.  Upon arrival, only half of the town seemed to be open, as it was not quite “tourist season” yet.  And believe me, with my sunburnt knees blarin’ below the legs of my shorts, flip-flop cladded and wearin’ a t-shirt with my camera hangin’ ‘round my neck, I was the walkin’ epitome of a tourist!   Antiquin’ was hit or miss as maybe every third shop seemed to be open, and most of the museums were closed as well.  I scored a signed copy of Mitchel Whittington’s No Hope! The Story of the Great Red River Raft.  Some of y’all may remember Mitchel from the film, Southern Fried Bigfoot.  About noon, we found one of the best barbecue joints in Texas, Joseph’s Riverport Barbeque.  We were just fixin’ to mow-down on some ribs when one of our friends got some very devastating news; his mother had just passed from complications due to a surgery.  We tried to comfort our friend and his wife as best as we could, and returned to Uncertain to help them pack-up for their departure back to Arkansas.  Even though the drive back to The Gallery was brisk, the mood was somber.  Though our friends and their family had dodged the tornadoes that had plowed through their community just a couple of evenin’s before, life … as well as death still happens.  Our friends and their family will remain in our thoughts and prayers …

"Dad's" lost brew.

     The rest of our trip was spent by the remainin’ two couples just relaxin’.  Our friend from Conway had lost his lucky red Coleman can-cooler, which had blown off the dock while huggin’ an empty Miller Lite can two days prior.  I spied it from the dock … floatin’ on a bed of hyacinth between some bald cypress.  My plan had been to kayak over and get it for him, but due to their early departure, our “group kayak adventure” had never transpired.  I finally retrieved it for him on Thursday mornin’ after fishin’ … via our bass boat and reachin’ it with my trusty push-pole.  My wife and our other two friends from Plano were kickin’-it on the dock when I had returned.  We set the empty can still in its cooler in the middle of our table in effigy, and drank the rest of the day and evenin’ away.  Our other buddy’s wife had retired to The Gallery for an afternoon nap, and I fell asleep on the carpeted stern of our boat beneath the shade of a bald cypress while listenin’ to some Pink Floyd.  My wife and her friend stayed perched on the end of the dock roastin’ in the sun, and I listened to them reminiscin’ their college days as I drifted off.  Just before sunset, I had taken-off one last time for that evenin’ fish back in Turtle Shell.  Damn, that truly was a big bass … I just wish our friend from Conway could have been there with me to witness it.



Listenin' to some Floyd on Turtle Shell; G-man, wish you were here ...

     Friday mornin’ came way too friggin’ soon; even though our check-out was at noon, we were all packed & tidied-up well before 10:00 A.M., so we spent the remainder of our time together visitin’ on the front porch.  We said our goodbyes and departed for home.  This was the first time I had made that entire drive back home from Uncertain with no music.  As my wife read from her Kindle, we conversed from time to time, but our minds seemed to be elsewhere.  Thoughts of our responsibilities at home, the week of work we’d both missed, pickin’ up our boarded beagle Shiner and the anticipation of a school function we’d be attendin’ for the next two evenin’s for our son were all overshadowed by the thoughts of our friends in Arkansas.  I’m sure it would have been a lot more relaxin’ just knowin’ that they were okay, and we hoped they would soon be together with their family durin’ their time of grievin’ and spiritual need.

     Now that we’re back, I won’t be relaxin’ much anytime over the next month or so.  Our son will graduate from high school, and there is much to be done within the next few weeks.  Our house is in need of a good spring cleanin’, the garage needs some carpentry and a good paintin’, the trees & shrubs need prunin’, the gardens & flower beds need weedin’ as well as mulchin’ and I’ll need to finish another section of flagstone for our back patio prior to our son’s graduation party.  I’ll have to wait ‘til mid-June before I can even think of returnin’ to Caddo Lake to fish.  Hopefully, I can time that trip for a full-moon with some night-fishin’ and return for that monster-sized bass that I’d spooked back in Turtle Shell.  And maybe I can finally make it via paddlin’ my kayak to Back Lake and see if I can find any possible sign of wood apes.  Or better still, maybe I’ll just hit The Big Thicket for some sloughstalkin’ with a friend or two from the NAWAC.  Until then, I hope all is well with you & yours and maybe everyone else can do some relaxin’ … y’all take care!