The Houston Canoe Club celebrated the 1st Day of October 2026 with a fine paddle on Turtle Bayou followed by lunch at our favorite local spot, the Crawfish Place. For those unfamiliar, that’s about 45 miles east of Houston off I-10, near Lake Anahuac. Thank you Christy L. for organizing.
Scattered storms were in the forecast. “Pink in the morning, sailors take warning”! But luckily we only got a trace shower. For the most part it was a pleasant, normally muggy day, and thick cover on the bayou sheltered us from gusty winds.
Our day started with a quick jaunt up adjacent Whites Bayou. For years, it’s had the reputation of being especially pristine and beautiful. Back in the day, it was navigable for several miles. However, log jams have gradually shortened the ride. On this trip unfortunately we were stopped by a downed tree barely 3/4 of a mile in.
We were also disheartened to see an ugly garbage dump on the shore near our turnaround point. Whites Park Campground borders the bayou along this stretch. Some thoughtless people had thrown a dozen large trash bags into the bordering bushes where they split open and spilled their gross contents down the embankment all the way to the water. Really nasty. What’s wrong with people?
Where is their civic pride, respect and decency? We weren’t equipped for a clean-up, so hopefully grounds keepers will attend to it. Where were the Flock Cameras when they were needed?!
Anyway, we put that uncharacteristic mess behind us and headed over to Turtle Bayou, our main destination. It was its usual peaceful, picturesque self; a very nice float through the woods. Herons and kingfishers accompanied us the whole way. We even saw a sleepy gator resting on the shore; a rare sight up there. Very few turtles; just a couple near the put-in.
After about three miles, we’d had about enough and decided to turn around. Coincidentally, just then we ran into another fallen tree which totally blocked our further progress anyway! So back to the take-out it was, and over to a yummy lunch!
Another great day on the water!
* GPS courtesy Christy. See all pics on the HCC website.
https://thcc.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=187&club_id=496051