By Tom Douglas

We met up at White Park, which is in Chambers County, about 5 miles northeast of the city of Anahuac.  For about a week, we had all been following the weather forecasts, which kept telling us that the first cold front of the season was expected to blow through on Friday night, bringing colder temperatures and northerly winds in its wake.  So, we had steeled ourselves to face the chill.  But, that other prediction, that Saturday would be bright and sunny, also turned out to be correct.  

When our group of 17 paddlers headed south down Turtle Bayou from White Park, there was a pleasant breeze at our backs, and people began peeling off extra layers of now-too-warm clothing.  A little over a mile down the bayou, we stopped for a hike around the Turtle Bayou Nature Preserve.  Our guide for the hike was Linda Shead, who had played a significant role in establishment of the recently-opened Preserve.  Next, we paddled back up to White Park for our lunch stop, a time for everyone to introduce themselves, and an opportunity for a couple of our paddlers to leave the group so that they could head out for another afternoon engagement.  

After lunch, the rest of us paddled north up Turtle Bayou, several miles beyond Interstate 10, until the ever-narrowing and heavily-forested channel became tricky to navigate due to both closely-spaced and fallen (but still scenic!) trees.  Appropriately, our turn-around point was just past the end of Turtle Road.  Reversing course, we returned to White Park, arriving a few minutes before our scheduled take-out time of 4:00.  According to Tom’s GPS unit, we had covered some 9.8 miles.  We all headed home a little tired, but with memories of a gorgeous day on the water.  

To view additional photos of our outing, check out Joe Coker’s photo album under the “Photos” tab on the Houston Canoe Club’s web site www.houstoncanoeclub.org.    

Photos by Joe Coker and Tom Douglas