Adam surprised me a couple of weeks ago and announced that we would be going away for my birthday this year. It was definitely needed and well-deserved for both of us to get away this weekend. Neither of us had visited Caddo Lake before but after this weekend, we will definitely be back. My parents were wonderful - they dropped everything and came down to watch Clara for us. Thanks both of you!!! It was nice for us to get away with just each other.
It was literally out in the middle of nowhere. We stayed on the lake in a town called Uncertain, Texas - yes, you read correctly. There is really a town called Uncertain. Maybe 150 people call that town home. Three restaurants - we ate at each one - all serving the same yummy food - fried catfish. Mmmm. I love catfish and we had some of the best there is.
While researching the lake and all that it had to offer, we stumbled upon a group of cottages called Hodge Podge Cottages. A couple owns a variety of cottages right on the lake. I fell in love with "The Shipwreck" the second I saw it and knew I wanted to stay there. Our luck: it was free that weekend and you will see in one of the slide shows below why I wanted to stay there. It was an old boat that this couple rescued and renovated into a houseboat on land. It was very quaint and cozy and you really need to know and love the person you are staying with because this place is TINY! It actually sleeps 6 but should really only sleep 2. The upstairs was literally just a full size bed complete with boat steering wheel, CB radio, compass and all. Downstairs was renovated into having a nearly complete kitchen and, yes, bathroom so tiny that closing the door meant having to pretty much stand on the toilet, so the door had to be open. I repeat: you really need to know and love the person you are staying with.
Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in the state of Texas. The lake varies in depth even from a couple of inches (even in the middle of the lake). It was such a majestic place that I don't think I will be able to do it justice in describing it verbally. I felt as though we went back in time. The cypress trees are covered in Spanish Moss and the surface of the lake had multiple species of lily pads and lotus flowers. In the two canoe trips we took alone, we could wind between the trees and go off the beaten path or boat roads as they call them on the lake. We saw so much wildlife and plant life that we were speechless. Watch the video below to see how beautiful and calm it was. Turn up the volume to hear the birds. We took a night boat tour guided by an amazing man named John Winn. He has lived on the lake his whole life and knew so much. I was a bit nervous about going on the lake at night with all the wildlife but he put it into a totally different perspective. We saw an alligator, beavers, multiple bird species, frogs, and heard lots of other animals such as owls, birds, fish and bugs. I have never seen so many stars in my life and all my years growing up in West Texas, I thought I had seen a starry night but my breath was taken away by the Milky Way!
If you ever get the chance to get away, this is the place to go to. I CANNOT wait to go back and with it only being three hours away, I just might pick up and go again soon. There are a lot of pictures on the two slide shows but they were too amazing not to share.
Thank you Adam, from the bottom of my heart. It was an amazing birthday!
12 years ago
