Sandy Creek

Lake  Livingston, Texas
Jan. 17th, 2015
by Terri Morgan

Joe C., Paul W., Mike P., Larry P., David P., and Jill W., all met at the Sandy Creek Resort boat ramp for a paddle on Sandy Creek at Lake Livingston. The weather could not have been any better. The morning air was cool and crisp as we prepared our boats for launch.

We launched and paddled a short distance before we encountered a huge flock of pelicans that had taken up residence on a point. After snapping a few pictures and watching them float away from us, we paddled back and into Sandy Creek. We came to a fork and paddled the left side which turned out to be a dead end. We then paddled back out and went to the right fork into the main part of the creek. The water was dead calm and offered a beautiful reflection of the trees and grasses that lined the banks.

There were lots of happy birds singing and lots of big nests in tree tops. On our way to Sandy Creek, we passed a couple of coves that were just begging to be explored. Further up, we encountered a tree that had been felled by a beaver that lay perfectly across our path. Mike got out and searched for a way to portage around it. A steep bank re-entry was not appealing to any of us so we decided to tackle the trip again in the summer when it wouldn’t be so cold if one were to accidently fall in.

We began paddling back and ducked in to some of the coves we passed going up. They were dead ends but fun to explore nevertheless. One cove had 4 or 5 Wood Duck houses.

After speeding past the launch site and harassing the pelicans again, we paddled out into the main part of the lake and decided to paddle to Broken Arrow Lodge and Marina and up Rocky Creek a little ways. After passing under the bridge at Hwy 190, we made our way to the shore where we found an unused boat ramp in a nice wooded area and pulled in to stretch our legs and have lunch. After lunch, a few stories, and group picture later, we somehow managed to get back in our boats safely with no immersions, as the boat ramp was rather steep and slippery.

Our journey continued as we made our way to Broken Arrow Lodge and Marina where we said hello to the proprietor and the dog, Big Boy. We continued up toward Rocky Creek about half way. This was a popular fishing spot as several boaters were anchored, trying their luck.

On our return, we encountered a slight wind paddling across the open lake. Upon rounding the point heading back to the ramp, we got into some serious chop that was more like waves in a bath tub. They were hitting at us from all angles and gave us all a pretty good rocking. However, we persevered and made it back to the ramp safe and sound.

The trip was concluded by a few of us meeting at a local bbq place for some nice hot bbq.

The author, Terri Morgan