May 19 - 22, 2013 (with Pics)

OK..... I'm back in civilization where I have internet that works. I'll try to remember the events of the past week. I left Missouri and was headed toward Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. Just as I was exiting Missouri,
I noticed this sign, and just had to take a picture.

I thought is was an excellent name for a town. :)

Crossing over in to Kentucky, I noticed they must have had a lot of rain also.

Those are cornfields you see that were flooded.

As I said, I was headed to Mammoth Caves, but it would have 

been too much driving in one day, so I stopped and searched for

a park that was closer. I found this place called 

"Land Between the Lakes" in western Kentucky.

I will come back here again on my next trip.

I asked the lady at the Visitor Center if this is where the movie

"On Golden Pond" was filmed. (an oldie starring Henry Fonda

and Katherine Hepburn) 

She told me no, "This is where Al Capone sent his men with their

loot, from Chicago"

One of the first things I did, was visit the Elk & Bison Prairie.

I saw a cow elk as soon as I entered, but she was off a way

and slightly hidden so I passed on taking a picture.

They want to make SURE you know these are not tame animals.

The first thing I saw were Turkey. And all throughout the park they were 

very abundant.

Not sure what these were, but they looked like a crested heron,

but with shorter legs.

More Turkey.

My first clue that Bison were near.  :-)

I never did see another Elk.

Not sure why this sign caught my attention. LOL

Ummm.... not what I expected. There were little signs like this along all

the roads. I must have seen signs for at least 30 cemeteries, 

and I wasn't on half the roads.

Heading down the road to my camping area, I spotted what looked like

a "blonde" German Shepherd running in to the woods. I asked about it

 at the Nature Center and was told it was probably a coyote. If so, it was

a big Coyote. About a mile later I saw this  Fallow Deer. 

The guy at the Visitor Center said they don't have a lot of them,

and that I was lucky to have seen one, so I feel good that I got

a picture of this one.

The Nature Center was next, and I only got a few pictures before

a family with two very unruly children came in, as the little loves came

running and screaming through, all the animals that could, made them

selves scarce. I had a few words under my breath for the parents that 

just smiled and walked on through.

Red Tailed Hawk

Barn Owl

Barred Owl

Screech Owl

And this is where those adorable little unsupervised tykes entered the Center.

This is the back end of a Red Wolf. According to the workers, they used to be

fairly well established in the mountains of western Kentucky, (early 1800's)

but by 1980, they were thought to be extinct in the wild. They are now listed

as "Critically Endangered". A captive breeding program has reintroduced them

to the wild where they are reported to be breeding in the wild.

You can read about them here:

http://www.defenders.org/red-wolf/basic-facts

Entrance to the campground that I stayed.

Saw this along a back road on my way to do some fishing.

Part of this area is in Tennessee. I crossed over to visit their

version of Old Bedford Village.

You had to actually walk through this area to get to it.

I was like they shut it off from the outside world.

It was nice, but not very big, and due to Govt. cutbacks

there were only 5 people working in the 

"1870's Homeplace"

These two cows were the only thing I took a picture of inside.

They are "Ayrshire" from Scotland. Brought over in the 1800's

because of their hardiness, and ability to convert grass to milk

more efficiently than most cows. Also because this area resembled

the area of Scotland that they were from.

On my way back I passed this.

Any guesses as to what this is?

All 4 sides are identical.

That's it for now. More to come another day. 

May 21, 2013

Just a quick note to let everyone know, there is no cell phone or internet service where I'm camping. I'm at a spot right now where I can get internet through my mobile router, but it takes forever to load the pages. I have 23 pics to post, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to sit here until they load. If not, I'll post them at a later date. I'm still in Land Between the Lakes in western Kentucky. Beautiful country!!

May 18, 2013

It's a good thing I'm leaving this park tomorrow. My food budget is going way over it's allowance. LOL
Breakfast at The Lost Bayou Cafe....... I just have no will power.

Back down to do a little shore fishing. Just the thought of lugging the kayak back up that hill tires me out.

I know it doesn't look like much, but it takes it's toll on me.

Up this bank and across the hiking path....

then up this bank to the car.

I just talked to the Camp Host as he was getting his fishing rod fixed up,

and asked if he has had any luck fishing. He told me he caught one in four weeks, 

so I feel pretty good catching one in four days.

Not sure what else I'll get in to today, but if it is the least bit exciting, I'll post.

May 17, 2013 evening

So, I got the kayak off the trailer and spent a couple hours on the lake. I didn't get any bites, but it sure was nice being out there. The water was so clear you could see 30 feet down. I saw a lot of Bass, and big ones too, but nothing was biting. I talked to a couple other boaters and no one was catching anything. But look at this..... crystal clear water. The guy at the marina said it is the clearest the water has been in 30 years.

I know it doesn't look like much, but that's about 25 feet to the bottom.

The only bad thing about being on the lake was carrying the kayak uphill for about 100 feet. I'm either really out of shape, old, or both.

I rested up a bit, and decided to rearrange camp. I moved the tent up on the blacktop in hopes that if it rains, I won't get water in the tent.

And here is the kayak. I can't prove I was in it, but it is off the trailer for the first time in 2000 miles.

After all of this, I needed a shower. Then I ran over to the Lost Bayou Cafe again (did I mention the cook is from PA? He is retired Navy and settled here after some travels)

Oh, I got the special "Catfish with Crawdad Etouffee and Green Beans" 

Time to EAT!!!

and enjoy the 3rd period of Penguins Hockey!

Morning May 17, 2013

The plan for the day was to get the kayak off the trailer and spend the day exploring the lake...... But, me being the paranoid person I am about staying in hotels and the car and trailer not being close by, I bought two bicycle cable locks to make sure no one could remove it. This is where the problem arises.... I can only find one of the sets of keys.  It looks like the morning will be spent emptying the trailer in search of the second set of keys. I was sure it was attached to a small bungee cord holding the fire extinguisher in place, but, nope...... more later today. It is supposed to clear off by 10:00 am Central time, but there is still a heavy fog hanging over everything.

UPDATE: 11:00 am Thanks to park maintenance and some good bolt cutters, I'm almost ready to go!!

May 16, 2013

We got the 50% rain they were calling for today, from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm. I still got about 5 hours of fishing in and about 30 seconds worth of catching. LOL There was no way it wasn't getting it's picture taken after all that fishing, so here it is....... it's a monster!!

Tomorrow the kayak comes off the trailer, and the lake gets explored a little more. I'll probably pull out Sunday, as they are calling for thunder showers again Monday and Tuesday.

May 14, 2013

The first 3 hours yesterday were spent driving, and most of those were spent on "Highway 76". This road, in no way, resembled any "Highway" I have ever been on. One lane each direction, no berm, no guard rails, and my top speed, at one point hit 46 mph. Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful to drive, but VERY winding and steep at a lot of places.

Entering Mark Twain National Forest

A few shots of  "Highway 76"

I arrived at Table Rock State Park about 2:30 Central Time and had to stop at the only place they apparently could find wide enough to place a scenic overlook. There were other spots on my way in that offered a nicer view, but no way to stop and get any pictures.

Looking up river from the overlook. If you click on the picture and enlarge it, you can see the breast of the dam.

Below the overlook. Note the fishermen in the boat to the right of the lower island.

Down river

My campsite

Camp stove is on the picnic table, and my breakfast is finished.

Two eggs, spam, 2 slices bread with blueberry preserves, and 2 cups of coffee.

Lake is in the background. The very nice older lady working in the Park Office, "Barb Rogers" (and she said that was her ex husbands last name) told me they have major Bass Tournaments on this lake, and there is also good trout fishing in the river, but the water has been high due to all the rain, and the report is that catching trout has not been as good as before all the rain. 

Time to clean up breakfast dishes, gather up my fishing equipment and see if the Bass here are as picky as my last stop.