A little urban solitude

[bdann]

Only second time this year I've had my kayak out. mid to upper 60s, light wind, beautiful afternoon on the water.







hard to believe there was snow on the ground just a few days ago. 

[oldfatman]

WOW You know how to hurt a guy.  I have a Folbot Yukon in the truck just waiting to be put together and paddled.  Worse yet it is only about 300 yards to a perfectly good body of water to play in here at Lady Bird Johnson Muni Park. Thanks for the kick where I need it.

[homerboy2u]

Hey BDann, do you have pictures of your Kayak?....great pictures you got there. Thank you for sharing.

Saludos

[bdann]

thanks Homero.  Here's the boat, Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120, purchased from Ray52 last October. 

[bdann]

This afternoon:

[bdann]

Today a smog tinged sunset.

[jeffblaylock]

Nice oasis you've got there. too bad we can't get to our oases often enough.

[Peach]

Beautiful pictures!  I take my kayak out to Somerville a lot...great place for me to hide....no cell phone coverage..

[TheWildWestGuy]

I have kayaked at Somerville also and actually seen a ~6' alligator on the bank of Yegua creek with my own eye's.  Everyone I talked to told me there were no gators in Lake Somerville but there is at least one!
I usually put my kayak in at Nails Creek State Park and kayak up the flooded valleys of Nails and Yegua Creeks but often have a hard time finding the entrance to Yegua Creek from the lake because of heavy vegetation growth and it's anastomosing nature.

Somerville also has a nice hiking/Mtn Bike/Horse trail that goes between Birch Creek State Park and Nails Creek State Park (~13 miles one-way).   Someone with a horse recently told me that Birch Creek had shut down and closed it's horse-trailer-camping area due to a "lack of funds" anyone know if that's true or not?
Seems incredible that the park would choose to close the horse camp since it was popular and how much can it really cost to have a bunch of (water-only) campsites and a port-a-poddy?   TWWG

[RichardM]

I have kayaked at Somerville also and actually seen a ~6' alligator on the bank of Yegua creek with my own eye's.  Everyone I talked to told me there were no gators in Lake Somerville but there is at least one!
I usually put my kayak in at Nails Creek State Park and kayak up the flooded valleys of Nails and Yegua Creeks but often have a hard time finding the entrance to Yegua Creek from the lake because of heavy vegetation growth and it's anastomosing nature.

Somerville also has a nice hiking/Mtn Bike/Horse trail that goes between Birch Creek State Park and Nails Creek State Park (~13 miles one-way).   Someone with a horse recently told me that Birch Creek had shut down and closed it's horse-trailer-camping area due to a "lack of funds" anyone know if that's true or not?
Seems incredible that the park would choose to close the horse camp since it was popular and how much can it really cost to have a bunch of (water-only) campsites and a port-a-poddy?   TWWG

The TPWD website for Lake Somerville doesn't say it's closed.  Maybe it was once targeted for closure...

Had to look up the definition for anastomosing.

[presidio]

Had to look up the definition for anastomosing

BBC is a good place to learn new words with a sesquipedalian composition, though sometimes we see pleonasm creeping in. 

Indubitably, that often is the case and happens frequently. 

[oldfatman]

I had a weekend place next to Birch Creek SP for 12 years and canoed all over the upper end of Sommerville and never saw an alligator.  However there is a lot of prime gator habitat back in the creeks so I am not surprised to hear of one now.  On a hiking note. If you go to Birch Creek SP to the hiking trail just before the Yaupon campground sites, you can hike to some interesting areas.  There are no big climbs but there is a lot of up and down to the trails.  Follow the trail to where it loops back to the park, but continue to the north past the Birch Creek Forest subdivision boat ramp and enter the COE land there. You will have s0mething over 20,000 acres of wooded area to romp around in.  There used to be old ranch roads and deer and hog trails all over in there.  When you hit Birch Creek and go upstream, you can hike several miles.  In certain areas I found fairly interesting rock formations and at one spot on Birch Creek a neighbor used to find a few arrowheads.  Be sure to take water and food because it  is very remote and secluded in there.  I spent about ten years going all kinds of places in that COE territory. A good USGS map will help keep you from loosing you way. Have fun.

[Peach]

I have kayaked at Somerville also and actually seen a ~6' alligator on the bank of Yegua creek with my own eye's.  Everyone I talked to told me there were no gators in Lake Somerville but there is at least one!
I usually put my kayak in at Nails Creek State Park and kayak up the flooded valleys of Nails and Yegua Creeks but often have a hard time finding the entrance to Yegua Creek from the lake because of heavy vegetation growth and it's anastomosing nature.

Somerville also has a nice hiking/Mtn Bike/Horse trail that goes between Birch Creek State Park and Nails Creek State Park (~13 miles one-way).   Someone with a horse recently told me that Birch Creek had shut down and closed it's horse-trailer-camping area due to a "lack of funds" anyone know if that's true or not?
Seems incredible that the park would choose to close the horse camp since it was popular and how much can it really cost to have a bunch of (water-only) campsites and a port-a-poddy?   TWWG

I camp at the walk-in tent area a lot in the summer.  But mostly I put my kayak in at Nails Creek.  I've been doing that for a couple of years now, but haven't paddled up Yegua Creek...I'll have to see if I can find that.  I like the trails at Birch Creek to...used to run on them a lot before I had the kayak.  Now it's the water I spend most of my time in.   Don't know about the closing of the horse-trailer camping area though.

And I didn't know about the gators....