Mud Lake
July 13th, 2014
by Paul Woodcock

On Sunday, July 13th, Natalie lead another of her barbecue tasting trips for the 50th anniversary party. We were going to check out Rudy's Country Store and Barbecue. We put in at Clear Creek Park on Mud Lake at the docks for the rowing club.

The docks were about 75 feet from the parking lot and it was all down hill. The floating docks made for an easy put-in especially for my canoe,  I just stepped in the canoe.  

The put-in		The trip leader (right)		The docks		Across Mud Lake

We paddled across Mud Lake to the western shore where there is no development.  We saw all the usual water birds. After paddling up Horse Pen Bayou, which is a beautiful paddle, we came to a spot where high water had beat down the vegetation.  We came to a side channel and this became the highlight of the trip. There was a place where the water became cool and clear. We decided this must be spring feed. There were schools of small fish and a few large fish swimming around. We spent about a half hour just watching them swim around and through the underbrush.  Natalie was expecting a strong south wind on the return trip but the water was as smooth as glass.

Buzzard		Egret		Night heron

Horse Pen Bayou		Watching fish		Paddling back

The take-out up the hill was a challenge but every one pitched in and helped and we all got loaded.  We then went across the highway to check out the public boat dock to see if it would be a better place to put-in and take-out.   It was crowded and busy.  We then shuttled to Ruby's for lunch.  Natalie lead us on a very interesting shuttle to the restaurant.  After eating, everyone agreed that the side dishes, especially the three bean salad, was delicious.  The potato salad was also good. They had two kinds of barbecue sauce; mild and hot.  I thought the meat was good without any sauce. 

Natalie was going out of state so I volunteered to write the trip report.  Naturally I put it off until the last minute, so if John gets it in this month's newsletter, I will be lucky and it is the result of his hard work. 

Paul's full photo album can be seen here.

	The earth is my mother The sky is my father The animals are my brothers The canoe brings me closer to them
The author, Paul Woodcock