Young Photographer

Last weekend my daughter and her family met us in Uncertain, Texas for the weekend.  We had a great time at Caddo Lake, taking a boat tour of the lake.  We spent Sunday afternoon in Jefferson, Texas attending the Mardi Gras parade.  While some of our group were shopping the antique stores in Jefferson, the rest of us took a walk on the nature trail along Big Cypress Bayou.

My seven year old grand daughter loves to take photos with my camera. As we were walking on the nature trail along Big Cypress Bayou I let her use my camera. I am a proud Papa, but I really think she has an eye for photography. All of the photos in this post were taken by her.

I can't wait to see more work from this budding photographer.  I think she has a great future.

Caddo Lake

We spent last weekend in Uncertain, Texas on the shores of Caddo Lake.  It was so eerily beautiful and relaxing.  We rented a lovely house on the lake shore called Hoot n Holler.

Caddo Lake is on the border of northeast Texas and northwest Louisiana.  It includes one of the best examples in the southern United States of a mature bald cypress forest, and is one of the largest cypress forests in the world.  The moss-draped cypress groves makes it look like a Louisiana swamp.

The lake is a maze of bayous and sloughs, and is the only natural lake in Texas. It is the largest natural lake in the south, approximately 33,000 acres of water.

Before 1800 the Caddo Lake area was a series of bayous, creeks, ponds and low lying areas that flooded often and held water for sustained periods of time during the rainy seasons. Around 1800 a chain of natural events changed the landscape of the cypress valley and became what we know as Caddo Lake.

A huge log jam on the Red River that was called The Great Raft created the modern Caddo Lake. The Big Cypress Bayou is the main tributary that feeds Caddo Lake. After it leaves Caddo the Big Cypress Bayou flows into the Red River where they merge in North Louisiana. The point where these two tributaries meet was blocked by this huge log jam known as the Great Raft and Caddo Lake was formed.

The US government commissioned Henry Shreve to remove the huge log jam. Shreve was a steam boat captain and builder. Many of the government engineers did not think that the removal of the Great Raft was feasible or even possible. Shreve took on the challenge and by 1835 had removed enough of the log jam that it opened up the way for steamboats to enter into the Cypress bayou and then into Caddo Lake and beyond.

Various ports and landings were soon established along the waterways along the Big Cypress Bayou and Caddo Lake. Cotton became an important commodity and was shipped by boat to New Orleans and other destinations. In 1845 some businessmen got together and decided to establish a port as far up stream on the Big Cypress Bayou as could be possible for navigation, to be known as Jefferson Texas. Jefferson flourished and quickly became the second busiest port in Texas.

In 1873 the log jam that created Caddo Lake was finally and totally removed. With the removal of the log jam the water levels slowly fell to a level that made steamboat passage impossible. With the removal of the log jam and the arrival of the railroad, Jefferson and the Caddo Lake area were no longer a transportation hub.

Although Caddo Lake never went totally dry, it did get very low and was not navigable by larger boats. In 1914 a crude earthen dam was built on Caddo Lake that help raise the water back to levels near where they were at when the log jam served as the dam. It is now a large maze of interconnected waterways, with over a hundred miles of clearly marked boat roads and more primitive boat roads that are not so easy to navigate.

While we were staying at Caddo Lake we met Dale who lived next door. He is a paraplegic who has lived in a houseboat on Caddo Lake for the last 17 years. He took us out on the lake in his pontoon boat. It was an amazing experience and Dale is one of Caddo Lake's most knowledgeable guides. It was too cold to see alligators, but we we able to see a mink running along the shore.

My daughter and her family we able to spend a day with us while we were at the lake.  My grand daughters loved it.

The sunrise from over the lake from the boat shed was amazing.  It was as beautiful as any sunrise that I have ever seen.

I'm looking forward to the time we will be able to return to Caddo Lake.

Geocaching

G is for Geocaching.  If you are not familiar with Geocaching, It is a modern day treasure hunt powered by a GPS.  Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.

Geocaching got its start in May 2000 when the U.S. government allowed greater GPS accuracy.  Tens of thousands of GPS receivers around the world had an instant upgrade.

For GPS enthusiasts, this was definitely a cause for celebration. Internet newsgroups were filled with ideas about how the technology could be used.

Dave Ulmer, a computer consultant, wanted to test the accuracy by hiding a navigational target in the woods. The idea was simple: Hide a container out in the woods and note the coordinates with a GPS unit. The finder would then have to locate the container with only the use of his or her GPS receiver.

On May 3rd he placed his own container, a black bucket, in the woods near Beavercreek, Oregon, near Portland. He shared the waypoint of his "stash" with the online community on sci.geo.satellite-nav.

Within three days, two different readers read about his stash on the Internet, used their own GPS receivers to find the container, and shared their experiences online. Throughout the next week, others excited by the prospect of hiding and finding stashes began hiding their own containers and posting coordinates.

Geocaching.com began operating on September 2, 2000. With a worldwide membership the website claims millions of caches and members in over 200 countries.

I have been geocaching since 2004.  One of my favorite things about the sport is that it gets you to go places and discover things that you wouldn't otherwise.

On of my most memorable experiences was while geocaching in Tyler, Texas. I had found the geocache that I was searching for, and was finding my way back to my car when I got a bit lost. I had forgotten to put the coordinates of my cars location in the GPS, so I was just trying to remember my way back through the woods. I came into a brushy clearing and was trying to decide which way to go. There was an area that looked a bit wet and muddy, so I stepped carefully across it to avoid getting my shoes dirty. Imagine my surprise when the "solid" ground gave way, and I sank up to my armpits in stinky mucky quicksand. At first I was just angry that I was filthy, but then I started trying to get out and realized that I was in a serious predicament. Fortunately I was able to reach a small shrub than was strong enough for me to pull myself out.

I was now on the opposite side of the quicksand from where I needed to be and was trying to decide how to proceed. I layed out spread eagle and "swam" to the other side. It wasn't until I thought back on the experience as I was driving back to the condo that it dawned on me how much trouble I had actually been in. I was by myself, and my wife had no idea where I was. I never saw another person while I was out in the woods.


This is what I looked like after I got out.

If you have never tried geocaching I can recommend that you check it out.  Wherever you live, I'm sure that there are some caches in your area.  Just go to Geocaching.com and enter your location to see what is in your area.  I use the geocaching app for iPhone and since I always have my phone with me I can quickly look for caches anywhere I am at.  This weekend I found a number of caches in Conroe, Texas where I was visiting my son.  Geocaching is a great family activity; give it a try.

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Dress Barn

One of my wife's favorite places to shop is Dress Barn.  The first Dress Barn was opened in 1962 in Stamford, Connecticut.  There are now over 800 locations in the U.S.

We live in a small town in rural Arkansas with limited shopping opportunities.  When we do go shopping we make a day of it and travel to either Fort Smith or Hot Springs which are both over 80 miles away.  When we make these shopping trips my wife likes to stop at Dress Barn.  I enjoy not going in to the store and instead like to sit in the car in the parking lot.

One day while I was sitting in the parking lot, I took a photo of the Dress Barn Store and posted it to Facebook and said, I'm at my favorite place - The Dress Barn Parking Lot.  I received many likes and comments.  It became expected for me to comment on my favorite thing.  Comments such as, "who needs the NFL playoff games when you have the Dress Barn parking lot" and "no place I would rather be than the Dress Barn parking lot.

Last fall we attended our 40th high school reunion.  While we were visiting with old friends, they insisted that we go to the Dress Barn and take photos.  We really didn't have time but we did it.

When we are travelling I make sure to stop by any Dress Barns that we come across.  This year I have been to Dress Barn parking lots in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Colorado and Oregon.  My dear wife puts up with my little obsession even though many of the Dress Barns we have stopped at she hasn't even been inside.  During a recent visit to Oregon I stopped at three Dress Barns but she didn't shop at any of them.

While in Oregon we stayed at Glenedon Beach near Lincoln City.  I had several Facebook friends point out that there was a Dress Barn in Lincoln City.  I posted a beautiful sunrise photo and got the comment, "What, no Dress Barn in the proximity?!?!"

How many Dress Barn parking lots will I eventually visit?  I don't know. With over 800 locations I will be kept busy for a long time.

To read many other great blogs or to become part of the ABC Wednesday family click here.

Thank God For Grace

We are looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with my son and his wife. We will be leaving this afternoon and heading for Conroe, Texas.  The purpose of Thanksgiving is eating until we are stuffed... and giving thanks.  I appreciate the reminder to give thanks for our blessings, but realize that we should be giving thanks 365 days of the year. 

In the U.S. there has been an annual Thanksgiving observed since 1863.  In that year, with the county involved in a horrific Civil War, President Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring a day of Thanksgiving. 

One of the traditions of Thanksgiving is talking about the things we are thankful for.  There are many things, but I am truly thankful for my family.  

The Greek word translated thanksgiving is eucharista.  The English spelling is Eucharist.  My dictionary gives the following definitions.   1.  The sacrament of Holy Communion; the sacrifice of the Mass; the Lord's Supper.  2.  The giving of thanks; thanksgiving.

The word that most people use to describe the Lord’s Supper means thanksgiving.  What a great thought.  The Lord’s Supper is a ceremony in which we give thanks for what Jesus has done for us.  The root word in Eucharist is charis.  Charis is normally translated as grace.  That makes sense.  Think with me for a moment.  What happens at the beginning of your Thanksgiving meal?  Someone says “grace”.  Why do we say that they say grace?  Saying grace is giving thanks. 

At a British conference on religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C.S. Lewis wandered into the room.  “What’s the rumpus about?” he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.”

After some discussion, the conferees had to agree. The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, is singularly Christian.  Of all the world’s religions, only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.

In 2 Timothy 1:9, the Bible says, “He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began”.

Before you were born there was grace for you.  Thank God for grace!  As wonderful as it is, grace is not well understood and often not really believed. We use the word a lot but rarely think about what it means. It's probably true that most of us think infrequently about God's grace. 

Part of our problem is in the nature of grace itself. Grace is scandalous. It’s hard to accept. It’s hard to believe. It’s hard to receive. We are skeptical when a telemarketer tells us, "I'm not trying to sell you anything. I just want to offer you a free trip to Hawaii." Automatically we wonder, "What's the catch?" because we have all been taught that "there's no free lunch."

Grace shocks us in what it offers. It frightens us with what it does for sinners. Grace teaches us that God does for others what we would never do for them. We would save the not-so-bad. God starts with prostitutes and then works downward from there. Grace is a gift that costs everything to the giver and nothing to the receiver. It is given to those who don't deserve it, barely recognize it, and hardly appreciate it.

Grace means that no one is too bad to be saved. The Bible is full of examples; Liars, cheaters, murderers, adulterers, prostitutes.  God specializes in saving really bad people.

Grace also means that some people may be too good to be saved. That is, they may have such a high opinion of themselves that they think they don't need God's grace. They may admit they are sinners but they don't admit they are spiritually dead.

This view of grace is hard for good people to accept because it means we must give up our "goodness" in order to be saved. We must admit that nothing we have done matters in the least when it comes to being forgiven by God. God has designed our salvation so that he alone gets the glory!

Ephesians 2:8,9 tells us,  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”.

Imagine what heaven would be like if you had to earn your way there. "I was a preacher." "I built churches across the world." "I gave a million dollars to world missions." "I had hundreds of baptisms at my meetings." "I volunteered at the hospital." “I baked cookies for the school kids.” As good as those things are they will not help forgive even one sin. They will not save you or help save you. 

Can you just imagine someone putting his arm around Jesus and saying, "You and me, Jesus, we did it: You died on the cross and I baked the cookies”? I am so thankful that it's not like that. When Jesus died on the cross, he paid the full price for your salvation. Jesus paid the price all by himself.

Grace is never cheap.  Grace costs the ultimate.  It is just that you and I aren’t the ones paying.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life”.  John 3:16

Thank God for grace!   Look for grace in unexpected places. I know that you will find it. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 1:14, "the grace of our Lord is exceedingly abundant".