Caddo Lake

Flooding at Caddo Lake

I took a quickie camping trip with a few friends the other weekend and I have some photos to share, if anyone would like to see them. We drove to Shreveport, Louisiana, on Thursday night, stayed in the El Dorado (boyfriend gets free rooms because he's a regular), gambled a bit, and drove to Caddo Lake State Park (back in Texas) on Friday morning.

It rained most of the week leading up to camping, but luckily it stopped on Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately, the rain was enough to flood the lake, and no one was renting canoes or kayaks, which is pretty much all you do at Caddo Lake. 

We hiked the few trails they had, wandered down to the fishing pier with the hope of seeing alligators (nope), and then cooked out before an early bedtime.

The shack down by the bayou

The hiking was limited but beautiful

No gators

On Saturday our friend Joann called a bunch of rental companies in the nearby towns, but they still weren't renting canoes or kayaks. She did find a guy who offered to take us on a sunset tour of the lake, so we jumped on the opportunity. At least we'd get on the water somehow.

The tour wasn't until 6, so we had the whole day to chill. Joann, Marc, and their two kids headed into town to do some sightseeing, and Andrew and I settled into camp chairs with our books. Forced relaxation is pretty sweet. There might have been a nap in there too.

Andrew had found a restaurant that he wanted to try, so around 4:30 all six of us loaded into his car and headed off to dinner. We were the first people in the restaurant, but were shortly joined by geriatrics and other families with young kids. Fully embracing my new-found love of seafood, I ordered the fried catfish and shrimp. When in the bayou, right?

Our tour guide

After dinner we drove over to a boat dock in Uncertain, Texas, to meet our captain. He was very informative and nice, and I'd recommend anyone book with him when visiting the area. He cruised us in and out of little channels and pointed out owls and other birds. It was a nice, relaxing way to see the sunset.

There's an owl in this photo

Bayou highway

I love Spanish moss

On a boat!

Then we drove back to camp, made some s'mores, drank some beers around the fire, and went to bed by 10. We woke up early (for me) on Sunday, packed up, and drove the 5+ hours back to Austin with plenty of time to catch the season premiere of Game of Thrones.

Until next time, Caddo Lake