After moving to Texas nearly two years ago, I finally made an overnight canoe trip. After lurking around this forum for a while, I finally opted for the Colorado River, about an hour west of my home straight down I-10.
We put in at Beason's Park in Columbus, TX. River gage was at 10.1'. The outfitter told me 12' is ideal, but due to the drought the last couple years, 10' is more the norm now. We had less than an hour before the rain started.
It was a light rain for most of the day. Only one downpour for about 20 minutes where we hid under some overhanging trees. Shortly after the rain started we ran into these two birds of prey:
Very cool to see these two soaring across the sky. We ran into them again about a mile down stream. Saw a third one on Sunday. I've only seen one bald eagle in the wild before, so this was extra special.
This area is farm land, so there are lots of cows around. The river banks (cut banks as well as sandy beaches) are strewn with trails criss-crossing down to the water. We also saw quite a few deer down and around the water. I think some of these cows have some mountain goat blood in them, 'cause some of those trails are pretty darn steep.
We caught a break at lunch. The rain stopped for a while and we were able to make some delicious deer & pork summer sausage and dorito burritos for lunch. (my son's recipe).
At about mile 14 we made camp on a big bend in the river. We set up the tent and then cooked in the light rain. We didn't have any fish to fry, so we went with the back up plan. Fajitas. Nothing says Texas camping like a bag of salsa!
Shortly after dinner the rain stopped for good. This was welcome news since the revised forecast called for thunderstorms till midnight. But the fun wasn't over. About an hour before dusk, a smallish herd of cattle came down to the river for some water. One cow made it all the way down when we noticed her. Then her mate noticed us. He wasn't too happy about our presence near the watering hole. He snorted and shook his head then came for a closer look. He got about 50 feet away from the tent and we had a staring contest for a good 15-20 minutes. All I could think of was this video (language) except we didn't have a fence to jump. Well, he finally went down to the river, had a drink and marked his territory, then gave us a pass. He snorted again and shook his head and mosied on his way within about 30 feet of the tent. The rest of the herd followed suit (from on top of the ridge) and they went further down the beach for their drink of water.
We had some hogs get close to camp during the night, but frankly I was too worn out from the day of paddling and the bull confrontation to worry about them. They moved on at some point. My snoring may have scared them off.
The next day brought blue skies and big fluffy clouds. In the morning we had a momma and baby come join us for water again, but no more close encounters. I was certainly on the lookout, though. Here's baby. Mr. Bull was about half the distance this little guy is to the tent.
Morning means camp breakfast. And we're all in for the Texas version:
The river got wide and slow not too far from our campsite and the remaining 6 miles on the river was a bit of a workout with the headwind we had. Lots of motorized boats on the river too. Can't blame folks for enjoying the beautiful weather on this holiday weekend. Just not my style.
Overall, it was a great trip. Nice clear water, fair bit of wildlife, and nice weather (the second day at least).
We put in at Beason's Park in Columbus, TX. River gage was at 10.1'. The outfitter told me 12' is ideal, but due to the drought the last couple years, 10' is more the norm now. We had less than an hour before the rain started.
It was a light rain for most of the day. Only one downpour for about 20 minutes where we hid under some overhanging trees. Shortly after the rain started we ran into these two birds of prey:
Very cool to see these two soaring across the sky. We ran into them again about a mile down stream. Saw a third one on Sunday. I've only seen one bald eagle in the wild before, so this was extra special.
This area is farm land, so there are lots of cows around. The river banks (cut banks as well as sandy beaches) are strewn with trails criss-crossing down to the water. We also saw quite a few deer down and around the water. I think some of these cows have some mountain goat blood in them, 'cause some of those trails are pretty darn steep.
We caught a break at lunch. The rain stopped for a while and we were able to make some delicious deer & pork summer sausage and dorito burritos for lunch. (my son's recipe).
At about mile 14 we made camp on a big bend in the river. We set up the tent and then cooked in the light rain. We didn't have any fish to fry, so we went with the back up plan. Fajitas. Nothing says Texas camping like a bag of salsa!
Shortly after dinner the rain stopped for good. This was welcome news since the revised forecast called for thunderstorms till midnight. But the fun wasn't over. About an hour before dusk, a smallish herd of cattle came down to the river for some water. One cow made it all the way down when we noticed her. Then her mate noticed us. He wasn't too happy about our presence near the watering hole. He snorted and shook his head then came for a closer look. He got about 50 feet away from the tent and we had a staring contest for a good 15-20 minutes. All I could think of was this video (language) except we didn't have a fence to jump. Well, he finally went down to the river, had a drink and marked his territory, then gave us a pass. He snorted again and shook his head and mosied on his way within about 30 feet of the tent. The rest of the herd followed suit (from on top of the ridge) and they went further down the beach for their drink of water.
We had some hogs get close to camp during the night, but frankly I was too worn out from the day of paddling and the bull confrontation to worry about them. They moved on at some point. My snoring may have scared them off.
The next day brought blue skies and big fluffy clouds. In the morning we had a momma and baby come join us for water again, but no more close encounters. I was certainly on the lookout, though. Here's baby. Mr. Bull was about half the distance this little guy is to the tent.
Morning means camp breakfast. And we're all in for the Texas version:
The river got wide and slow not too far from our campsite and the remaining 6 miles on the river was a bit of a workout with the headwind we had. Lots of motorized boats on the river too. Can't blame folks for enjoying the beautiful weather on this holiday weekend. Just not my style.
Overall, it was a great trip. Nice clear water, fair bit of wildlife, and nice weather (the second day at least).
