Lake Ray Roberts State Park

The afternoon of June 9th JoAnn and I traveled to Lake Ray Roberts State Park. A popular area which includes a large lake, shorelines from which to swim and fish from, and boat ramps for launching recreational boats. The lake is a 29,350 acre reservoir located 10 miles north of Denton, Texas. It is filled by a tributary of the Trinity River and was named after Ray Roberts in 1980.

We have driven by car to the park and the entrance is shown above. The park has several amenities for visitors. It was an enjoyable experience.

The above is a constructed panorama (with distortion) view of the reservoir. The size of the lake can handle both the swimmer and boat enthusiast easily.

Here is small pier extending a short distance into the lake. JoAnn is taking a view of the lake and shoreline from this vantage point.

The lake has many beaches and this is the main beach of the area. Folks are swimming and taking in the Sun.

JoAnn near the shoreline. The rocks keep erosion down as this lake (like most lakes in Texas) is a source of water for people. Our next stop will be to walk out along the pier (to the right in the photo)

We have walked out along a pier that extends further into the lake. This is one of the views back toward the shoreline.

We've walked out to the end of the longer pier. JoAnn is taking a look around. 

We have driven a bit around the lake to Quail Run Bay. This viewpoint gives a different perspective of the lake.

Another look at Quail Run Bay. This was our first time at the park and it was very enjoyable.  We really had a good time and we will return!

Day Trip to Copper Breaks State Park, TX

Lake Copper Breaks

Panorama of Copper Breaks Lake and part of the park from a trip made June 1, 2018. The park is hilly and wooded and has bike and hiking trails throughout the area. The park has campsites with restrooms. This area actually does have some copper deposits but in not enough quantity to mine. In the past, the park didn't seem to have lots of visitors but recently the attendance seems to have picked up. 

(Left):  Access to the lake is made from a boat ramp located to the far left of the lake in the panorama photo shown above. There is a cement ramp just visible in the left side of the photo to lower boats into the water. The lake is straight ahead in the photo behind the trees on the horizon.

A no-longer working water pump for cattle. To the left of the pump is a trailhead for access to more remote parts of the park. Photo taken with a Canon AE-1 Film Camera.

Big Pond Lake

This lake lies at the far northeast side of the park in a valley that has a trail for access. This lake is out of the way and rarely has crowds. Look just right of center slightly above where the sky meets the green and a very small black V might be seen. The V are the wings of a bird flying around the area.

Trail to Big  Pond Lake

This is the upper portion of the trail from the parking lot and picnic area down to Big Pond Lake. Not much difficulty in navigating the trail to the lake.

Cement Overflow Dam
This is a view of the overflow dam at one end of the lake. It is actually a cement channel about 30 feet long and 10 feet wide that empties into a gully. The concrete dam is quite interesting considering its location; there are no roads leading to it.

Area Near Big Pond Lake

A photo of the area south of Little Pond indicating how bushy the area appears. It wasn't clear this trip if the park service had improved (and increased) the trail signs in the park. In the past, this park was known for not having very many trail signs nor the signs being very informative.

Although we've been to this park several times, it was good to get out and take a break to travel to this area. BTW, the temperature at the park was 101 degrees with somewhat high humidity. Essentially no clouds in the sky. We were thankful to have a wind as it made being outside more bearable. The park is surrounded by ranches which raise cattle and grow crops. It is unlikely this park land would be suitable for such activities.

Christmas 2017

Kitchen with Tinker

Here is a photo of our kitchen decorated for the holidays with Tinker on the table enjoying the decorations as well.

Festivities will consist of having a small dinner with friends. It will be cold but sunny followed by clouds. But we will have fun!

2017 Partial Solar Eclipse Texas

Texas Partial Solar Eclipse

Although Texas was not in the totality path
of today's solar eclipse, the state enjoyed a partial eclipse of about 75% as seen below:

There was the only slightest change in temperature with little or no dimming of the sunlight. Texas will experience a full solar eclipse in the year of 2024.

Lake Bob Sandlin State Park, TX

JoAnn and Tom did a quick trip out to Lake Bob Sandlin State Park. It had rained moments before we arrived and the sky was overcast. However, it was cool and nice to be outside for a little while.

Pier. A few brave visitors were around the park.

JoAnn at pier.

Some brave boaters were on the lake but not many. The car bridge across the lake is visible.

2017 May: Canyon de Chelly, Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park, Zion Nat'l Park

In May 2017, we took a trip to St. George, Utah where we then visited Canyon De Chelly,  Bryce Canyon and Zion Nat'l Parks. We had a wonderful time with our good friends Robert and LuJean. Bryce and Zion are wonderful parks to visit and in which to hike. The colors are wonderful.

Canyon De Chelly
An amazing area dating back 4000 years of ancient peoples living in the area. 

Canyon De Chelly
The area has trails and dirt roads that take the visitor to colorful spots throughout the area

Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park
The spires are the result of erosion and colors are outstanding

Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park
The spires in the park are called Hoodoos

Zion National Park
We've arrived at Zion. Here are the Temple and Towers near the entrance of the park.

Top of the Canyon
The weather has been perfect. Blue skies and nice temperatures.

2016 Christmas In Tulsa

We traveled to Tulsa to see JoAnn's daughter Janet for Christmas. We had a great time!

Here is Janet's living room. It hides all the chaos going on with several kids and adults doing their thing. As part of the trip JoAnn, Tom, Janet and Duane went to see Rogue One in 3D. What a blast! 

Duane taking JoAnn for a ride on the Harley

Here's Janet and JoAnn at the theater

Lake Bob Sandlin State Park

Bob Sandlin State Park is about 640 acres on the north shore of Lake Bob Sandlin in Titus County, Texas. The area was acquired in 1979 and opened in 1987. JoAnn and I took a trip out to the park during late November and found the lake and trees quite beautiful. The leaves had turned due to fall weather.

Here is JoAnn at the park entrance

Lake Bob Sandlin.JoAnn is viewing the lake near one of many piers that
stretch out into the lake

Pier. There were several visitors both sightseeing and camping this day but
we didn't consider the park to be crowded at all

View of the shoreline from the Pier

A nearby pond

JoAnn demonstrating how tall the trees are at the lake

Partial panorama of the lake

Example of a typical road in the park.

Pan of the shoreline next to the Pier

Pan of shoreline next to walk

Daingerfield State Park

Daingerfield State Park is southwest of Texarkana and is a 506 acre recreational area deeded in 1935 by private owners. It was opened to the public in 1938. This area was the center of the iron industry in Texas. Development of the 80 acre lake included an open beach area, a landscaped peninsula, and the site's hilly terrain. The park has a swimming barge and piers. The lake is also known for fishing. Small boats can be rented or visitors can bring their own boat.

Here is JoAnn at a park sign within the park itself. We're near the visitor's center. This was the sign built by the CCC that once marked the original entrance to the park.

This is a small panorama at one end of the lake. The area has extensive hiking trails around the lake which go through a dense forest of very tall trees.

JoAnn sitting on a log at the Dogwood Camping area. A portion of a trail that runs around the south side of the lake can be seen next to her. She's looking out at the lake. The weather is beautiful with temps in the low 80's and very low humidity.

If you look closely, the swimming barge can be seen in the distance toward the right between the opening of the trees. The lake is roughly 300 ft above sea level. One of the trails on the northwest side of the lake goes up to about 500 ft above sea level and offers a view of the Piney Hills.

Panorama of the landscaped beach near the visitor's center. Note the swimming barge. JoAnn and I are sitting on a park bench looking out across the lake.

JoAnn is on the pier. The lake is quite pretty due to the landscaping methods used during it's early development.

Rental boats. While we were on the pier, two men had brought their own boat and were fishing in this area. Two large geese wandered around a bit on the grassy lawn visible in the right side of the photo. There wasn't a sound to be heard except for the light breeze in the area.

A large panorama of the lake from the pier. We had a mild wind which made the experience even better (slightly cooler temps).The beach area (other side of the trees on the left) is landscaped and has picnic tables and benches.

Here are the picnic tables on the landscaped area. A visitor can bring their pre-prepared food or cook it in one of the stoves next to the table.

Here is one of the benches along the shoreline. It was a wonderful experience to sit and just let the world go by for a while. This will be a grand memory for us.