By Tom Douglas
On November 16 we met up at Double Bayou Park, which is about 7 miles southeast of the community of Anahuac. Located directly across the road from the once-bustling Double Bayou Dance Hall, the park has many trees and open grassy spots. There were signs that feral hogs had been rooting around in the grass, and that the county is making efforts to control them. For a driving map to Double Bayou Park, click here.
While the shore crew began positioning boats for the launch, several drivers ran the morning car shuttle down to the take-out at Job Beason Park. Once everyone was back, we enjoyed the use of the new boat launch facility. All 16 of our paddlers found that the new boat slide worked well for their boats, and it was a pleasure to have a launch spot that featured hand rails and no mud.
Following several days of cold and dreary weather, we were pleased to have our trip day turn out to be so sunny and beautiful. There was little wind, and the falling tide on Double Bayou would be going out with us all day. Beginning in pine forest, we would see a variety of habitats during our paddle: oak domes, prairies, patches of freshwater marsh plants where tributary creeks entered, and salt marshes as we got closer to the bay.
A short distance down the bayou, we passed by a small tributary coming in from the right. We didn’t follow it today, but on a much higher tide, it can be paddled all of the way up and under Eagle Ferry Road, and beyond, past the historic St. Paul United Methodist Church, which was founded in 1869 by former slaves.
Nearly 2 miles into the trip, we landed on the left bank, where we had lunch under a splendid grove of oak trees. Linda Shead provided background about environmental concerns and projects on Double Bayou. Tom Douglas read several vignettes of early ranching days, including a couple about the family who own the land where we were having lunch. The group signed two thank-you cards: one to the generous land owner, and the other to the owner of a local watering hole where several of us would retire for seafood following the outing.
Continuing our paddle, we soon saw several large work boats and recreational boats that had been brought up the bayou from Trinity Bay. Next came Haynes Road, an alternative emergency take-out for trips on Double Bayou, and the scene of a 1918 incident in which the crew of a World War I airplane flying out of Ellington Field amazed local residents when it landed in a pasture to ask for water.
On previous trips, we have noticed that afternoons on the East Fork of Double Bayou are a great time to observe rainbow-like haloes around the sun and brightly colored “sun dogs” that are set off to either side of the sun. Today was no exception, with the show of haloes and sun dogs lasting for over an hour.
Finally, we came into sight of Job Beason Park, which is named after a man who served as keeper of the Double Bayou lighthouse during the early twentieth century. It is situated at the confluence of the East and West Forks of Double Bayou, in the community of Oak Island. Our take-out at the pair of small concrete boat ramps went smoothly, as did the afternoon car shuttle to retrieve vehicles from Double Bayou Park.
Some of our paddlers headed home at this point, two extended their trip by paddling (speedily) back up to Double Bayou Park, and the rest of us paid a visit to Oak Island’s local bar and grill, where we took the opportunity to drop off a signed thank-you note for its owner. Watching the sun go down over Trinity Bay while eating locally harvested shrimp and oysters made for a fine finish to the day.
If you would like to see more photos, check out the SmugMug website, where Linda Day has posted a photo album, and also the Photos section of the Houston Canoe Club website.