Hauntingly Beautiful
April 06, 2007
A couple weeks ago Roger and I went camping at Caddo Lake with friends. Every time I go, I am amazed by the simple beauty of this pristine area. It is the only natural lake in Texas, populated with Cyprus trees and covered in Spanish moss.
As soon as we arrived, we rented canoes, piled our gear in the center of each, and paddled to our campsite, which was on an island. And by "we rented, piled and paddled," I mean that the guys rented, piled and paddled.
We spent the weekend circumnavigating the island, dodging trees and roasting (or charring, whichever the case may be) marshmallows. Those fluffy white cubes of sugar are the most important equation of any camping trip, and this was no exception.
Click below for the slideshow, or HERE for the set, but first I should make a note to my mother: Marshmallows are a totally acceptable breakfast.
Comments
Those are such great pictures! We don't have ANYTHING like that up here in Virginia. So amazing.
Posted by: Radish | April 6, 2007 08:13 AM
Nice pictures. My blog needs more pictures. That snake in the tree was freaky... did you worry about snakes crawling into your tent? Or does the fact that you can zip up a tent make it snake proof. Would a snake crawl under the tent for warmth as you are sleeping and then bite you through the tarpish material when you rolled over?
Just curious.
Posted by: ben | April 6, 2007 08:18 AM
I think for those of you out of towners it's important to remember that this is the ONLY lake in Texas that is a naturally occurring lake. All others are man made and look NOTHING like this. It's also in deep East Texas which looks like Louisiana.
Most lakes look like this most of the year during a drought.
http://texasscribbler.com/images/VanishingLake.JPG
~Jef
Posted by: Edge | April 6, 2007 09:01 AM
Wow, Jes, those are amazingly beautiful pictures! Someone sure is a good photographer. I had NO idea that Texas only has one natural lake - and that it looks like that! When I see pictures of cyprus in a lake, it always makes me think of Louisiana, not Texas. That sounds like a very fun trip. I need to go camping!
How is Anna Karenina? I've never read it and it is on my list of books to read. I just picked up The Scarlet Letter and Wuthering Heights from a used bookstore. Never read those either. If you haven't read East of Eden, you gotta read that. It was my first Steinbeck.
Posted by: Chiada | April 6, 2007 11:28 AM
That looked like so much fun.. well except for the big fat snake! With that said,the swamp was really beautiful. Great pics.
Posted by: amcati | April 9, 2007 08:23 AM
OMG that's beautiful! What fun!
Posted by: Aimee | April 9, 2007 11:45 AM
Well, love, you've found my middle name.
Posted by: Spring | April 9, 2007 12:23 PM
This makes me miss the South -- Spanish moss and canopied roads . . . and armadillo by the roadside . . .
Posted by: kris | April 9, 2007 01:08 PM
The ONLY naturally occuring lake in Texas?? Texas is huuuuuge? What kind of state is it that is that big and only has one lake??
Posted by: Suebob | April 9, 2007 06:01 PM
Very pretty!
Posted by: Heather | April 9, 2007 06:19 PM
Jes, you take gorgeous pictures. I loved each and every one of them.
And I am positively THRILLED that you know how to rock a bandana. Nice work.
Posted by: Emily | April 9, 2007 07:56 PM
SueBob: Texas totally has lakes. It's just that this is the only NATURALLY-MADE lake. Just to clarify. :)
Posted by: jes | April 9, 2007 09:38 PM
Wow, what great pictures! I was totally thinking, "I'm going to have to put this on K's and my to-do list" -- and then came the picture of the snake. Eek!
Posted by: my life is brilliant | April 11, 2007 11:45 PM
Need details...how'd you figure out where to stay, etc?
Posted by: Steff | April 12, 2007 02:00 PM
We've been going there for years. We rent our canoes and launch from Pine Needle Lodge.
Posted by: jes | April 12, 2007 02:03 PM