Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Campground - Dam Loop: To The Dam

I wanted to explore some more trails around the lake. We decided to walk from the parking lot by the Walk-in Campground where the yurts are located, south, across the dam, loop through the woods and back.

As we drove down towards the lake, it was apparent that something was ‘wrong.’ On the other side of the lake, I could see a brown band at the shoreline. It didn’t make any sense since the lake level was at full pool a week or so previously.
It took a minute to convince myself that the lake level was actually low. And just when I was getting enthusiastic about getting out and rowing again.

The route.

The trail follows the east shore of the lake south to the dam (Segment 6).

The low lake level left some tree stumps exposed. This one was particularly photogenic. Modern art.

At the end of the woods, looking south towards the east end of the dam.

A field opens off to the east. One of the cattail beds is on the right.

The cattails have gone to seed.

Water was being released from the lake as we walked across the dam. The measure on the side of the overflow tower indicated that the water level had been lowered five to six feet. One of the flocks of Ring-billed Gulls congregates in the background.

It was a pleasantly warm afternoon in the sun. The weather had brought out a number of cyclists; this one was riding up the hill below the dam.
Click on an image to view a larger image


Related posts:
- Marburg Creek Reservoir: Fort Yargo State Park
- Zen: A Spiral Of Gulls
- Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis)

2 comments:

ramblingwoods said...

Your stump made me think of my Mother. She had such a thing for driftwood. She would carefully scout out a piece, sand it, coat it with linseed oil and put it on display. I wonder how health it was for 2 small children to be smearing linseed oil on wood...LOL...Michelle

Joan said...

Yes, this stump would make a wonderful focal piece. Too bad it's under water most of the time. Would have been a bit of a challenge to move and illegal to boot since it's in a State Park - LOL.
You were probably safe enough working with linseed oil since it's an organic oil from flax seed. Messy though...