Walked 3.68 miles up the Jordan Park Trail and back, starting at Lantana Lodge
Heading south down the trail would (eventually) end up back at the Elm Fork Trail, the Lake Ray Roberts dam, the Isle du Bois Unit of the State Park, and the Greenbelt Trail
Hot day and a very sandy trail made it a slow go
The woods are thick and (I'm guessing) are probably hiding more than a few critters who just sit back and watching all the park visitors who wander by
But as this was the middle of the afternoon on a hot day, the shade was a welcome sight
A side trail branched out to the lake, probably so the horseback riders could care to their thirsty horses. This stretch of the shoreline was somewhat remote with very few signs of human activity. (Other than a handful of garbage that appeared to have washed ashore).
Panoramic view of the shoreline. Probably due to the isolation of the area, I think this was the clearest water I've ever seen at Lake Ray Roberts. Very little sediment in floating about. Ended up walking out about 50 feet where it was perhaps 2 feet deep and could still see my feet on the bottom. Doesn't sound that good. But very rare for North Texas Lakes.
This stretch also oddly didn't have that "fishy" smell usually common to North Texas lakes
Looking northeast up the red dirt shoreline
Couple of years of Texas drought has put a serious dent in the Lake. Easy to tell where it would be if at 'normal' levels. The circling vultures seemed to add to the perception of desolation
A long dead oak stands along the receded shoreline
More out in the water. All predate the flooding of the Lake back in the early '80s
Little farther up the shoreline, water erosion has washed away the sand and soil exposing the natural rocks. A herd of six deer (not shown) darted off from the trees behind us (also not shown) as soon as we cleared this stretch. I figure we were within 50 feet of them at one point and had no idea they were there.
Natural grasses have taken over the exposed lakebed
Mayflies were all over the shoreline. But for whatever reason, this stretch was swarming with them.
Getting hot and running low on drinking water. Time to turn around and head back
