Caddo Lake State Park

It was only a 2 1/2 hour drive east of Dallas, TX. Caddo Lake State Park was the first stop before driving a little down the road to Caddo Cabin. Kaya, the dog, was restless, ready to pee and smell the sweetness of nature. We could not wait to unveil the majesty of the only natural lake in Texas ourselves. I, kid you not, have been wanting to visit this place for years. What better time to visit than my birthday? Brenton and I have a fairly extensive list of places we want to explore. We have been exploring someplace new about every month or so for over a year now. Mind you, our explorations were varied, from a State Park 15 minutes away from home, to Austin, TX a couple of times to visit his brother, Denver, CO a couple of times to visit my brother and as far as Portland, OR, etc. We will be sure to share our experiences and the ins and outs of our travels, so you too, can explore!

Driving through the tall, tall trees of east Texas approaching the entrance of the park the Loblolly pine begin to have small drapes of the famous Spanish moss. Stopping into the welcome center to purchase a state park pass for the year for only 70 bucks! we are surrounded by dead leaves on the dirty ground, tall shadows and the resting sun peeking through the trees. I simply Venmo half of the cost to Brenton and voila! endless amounts of Texas state park adventures ahead. Within the state park it’s densely wooded with pine, water oak and, of course, the Bald Cypress cloaked in Spanish moss. Note, that it’s not actually a moss, but an epiphytic flowering plant! Anticipation thickens and so does the forest. We find a small parking lot in front of the boat dock and gather our beanies, gloves, and scarfs, because it was in the brisk upper 30s. We meander along the coast of the Big Cypress Bayou and find a small patch of wetland. Reflections of the swampy canopy dance with beautiful light mirroring off the surface of the water, aquatic plant-life invasively set up camp and cypress “knees” popping out of the ground fail to be as tall as the Bald Cypress trees themselves. The “knees” remind me of prairie dogs peering out from beneath the swampy earth. In reality, the American alligator, may be the ones peering from the wetlands. Much to my relief the alligators keep their distance from humans! Unless, you and your sister get off track and paddle into a gator nesting spot and feel one swim against the underbelly of your boat, as told by a woman who grew up in Uncertain, TX.

We are now ready to head to our cabin, hosted by Patti and Jay, in Uncertain. Brenton needs enough daylight to gather kindling for the fire. Luckily, Uncertain is only a few miles or so northeast on 2198 from the park. We missed our turn the first time, this town has a population of 150, so if you blink you might miss it. Our cabin shared property with another smaller cabin, Slough View. There was much room for Kaya to run around outside, there was a screened-in porch (which will be nice for mosquito season) and an open-air porch, a fire pit, and a grill, picnic table and parking spot all sat beneath a large tin-roof covering. Inside it was a cozy, clean, wood-paneled lake escape, decorated with local framed photographs and art and equipped with all the kitchen utensils and cookware I needed. I wanted to make a couple of things I had not yet made from my adored cookbook, The Kinfolk Table. I bought all of the ingredients back in Dallas. I even portioned some things out before packing. *patting myself on the back* We unloaded Brenton’s Xterra and I got to chopping an onion to begin making a delicious lentil stew with sesame rice. Being on cabin time it didn’t matter that it took an hour and a half or longer to make dinner, besides the wait was definitely worth it. We edited pictures from the lake. We drank wine with dinner. Later we tried to find something good to watch amongst thousands of channels and failed. Jurassic Park II was just not good. We played Phase 10, which I conquered! The fire struggled to stay roaring. The wood was too wet. But at its peak we roasted marshmallows and made s’mores, of course! The most perfect lake house in January birthday dessert there is.

The first morning of our two night trip we take it easy. We don’t wake up early—early is hard for service industry folk. I make my second planned meal of the trip which is a sweet potato hash with Italian sausage and egg. This is a quicker dish, but I cooked the potatoes too long and instead of a breakfast hash, I made a breakfast mash. Oh well, it’s still delicious. Brenton agrees.

At the warmest point of the day and as the sun is starting to peak out from behind the clouds we head back to the park. This time to meander the swampy waters via a canoe rental. It’s still cold, but we are grateful for the sun and slightly warmer temperature. We dress well and layered. With even more layers in the backpack (just in case). We pay for 2 hours of canoeing and receive our keys to fetch our required lifejackets from a locked shed and unlock our canoe. It’s a good spot to get on and off at. We meander fairly quickly through Saw Mill Pond at first, to get to Big Cypress Bayou to hang a right. We wait for a motorboats wake to recede to pass to continue. We hang out in the large river-looking bayou for a bit. We quickly realize we want to go back to the fairly-tale pond, named Saw Mill.

Seriously, one of my Instagram followers is right it does looks like the setting for The Notebook! Brenton enjoyed steering and navigating us into tight nooks and crannies in swallow waters. I enjoyed getting up close and personal with the Bald Cypress. He even once positioned the canoe between two trees for a photo op.

There was a Great Blue Heron that we spotted and watched soar from tree to tree several times. Apparently, they frequent the lake in all seasons. Along with him, we also heard pileated woodpeckers and other avian. This place seriously is magic. It could very well be the inspiration for a Lord of the Rings type novel.

Caddo Lake you are a rare gem. See you soon.