Rest Day at Lake Tawakoni

Today marks seven weeks post hip replacement. Yesterday I put on a shoe for the first time since February 20th. I couldn’t quite reach the left foot. It was frustrating and painful trying to make the stretch to pull the shoe up from the back. In the end, I had the shoe on but the tongue was folded back under into the laces. It would have to do. I was determined to wear them because the other night when I stepped out of bed, I felt the skin on my heel crack open from my rough and dried out feet from almost two months in only flip flops. When I wiggle my feet under the sheets it makes a crackling sound. Hiking around in the desert in Reefs probably hasn’t had the most beneficial effect on the condition of my feet.

This morning putting them on was still tough but I managed to get a bit closer and actually got them on right. Cali let me sleep in a bit this morning, but I was wakened by the maintenance/camp host writing me up a yellow ticket for not having a sticker. I talked to him for a second but he wasn’t too outgoing. I leashed up Cali and we took a hike around the trail out to the east of Spring Point. We wandered through the trees and came upon a beach with little waves breaking rhythmically on the shore. Maybe it’s the early morning silence but the mini crash of the tiny peelers sounded much bigger than they were and got me thinking about the beach. Sat zenlike for a while and listened while finishing my mug of tea. We were exploring around longer than planned so when we got back, I was feeling a little rushed getting things ready for today’s drive when I had to ask myself why I was pushing so hard. I got quiet for a minute and decided to stay put for the day and enjoy this beautiful spot. I was planning on taking two days at the next stop but who knows if it can even match this location. I hoofed it up to the ranger station and paid up for today and yesterday then felt a lightness in my step walking back to the campsite.

Fed the dog, then sat out on the bench and had a bowl of cereal. It is looking to be a magnificent day, Sun is shining and there is a light breeze adding a touch of cool to the air. I took a nap then we settled on the White Deer trail for a mid afternoon hike. We crossed a bridge spanning a little brook then passed through a quieter set of more primitive campsites with only one or two campers. A short way into the camping area we came upon the opening in the trees with its little marker and took the short hike out to another piece of the lake shore. We came across a couple walking their scrappy little dog wearing a muzzle and quickly sidled past. They were the only other people we’ve come across on any of our excursions. None of the trails are very long which suits us just fine. They serve our purposes. I’m walking better and the leg is feeling pretty solid.

After leaving White Deer Trail, we made our way over to the main beachfront Park just to have a look around and see who was hanging out. We found a quiet picnic table in the shade of a tree next to the lake and watched the world go by.

I made a chicken salad sandwich and gave Cali the other half of the can. We sat out at our picnic table and let the sun warm us up. I did a little reading and we rested up for our evening walk out to the lake to watch the sunset. We meandered around the grassy park and ended up out at the far point on the other side of the boat ramp. I sat on a little berm where the grass meets the red dirt of the shore and waited for the sun to drop behind the rolling hills on the far side of the water. A cowboy was fishing nearby keeping one eye on his fishing rod and the other on his rambunctious toddler who was running around wild on the grass. A birder stepped up to the water’s edge with a giant telephoto lens and snapped some pictures of a long tailed bird on a tree sticking out of the water. The cowboy gave her a curious look then turned back to focus on the business at hand. A few boats were racing in to beat the sunset curfew to be off of the water. Another gorgeous sunset then we slowly ambled back to our campsite.

They even have live ones,

My neighbors macho rides

I relaxed inside doing a few sudoku puzzles then writing this post. About halfway into it, Cali let me know we needed to go for a night time foray to use the bushes. It was extra dark and the stars stood out like glittering jewels in the night sky. We walked out by the bath house and there was hardly a person stirring at 10:00. Super quiet crowd, really peaceful spot.