A WALK IN THE PARK

We had fun on the bayou

Elaine and Steve Cattaneo paddle their canoe near a tree with a sign marking the water trail on Wattensaw Bayou.
Elaine and Steve Cattaneo paddle their canoe near a tree with a sign marking the water trail on Wattensaw Bayou.

Last year about this time we planned to take our canoe and explore a water trail on the Wattensaw Bayou located in east Arkansas (Prairie County) but, as we all well remember, the weather was not very cooperative last winter. There are a few reasons to choose winter to do this kind of float and one big one, or maybe I should say “the big one," is to avoid pesky mosquitoes. Still, it is best to choose a time during mild weather to be any real fun. Who wants to freeze in a canoe paddling along a bayou! None of us did, with or without mosquitoes, so we canceled our trip. Not much more was said about it until recently when my adventurous brother-inlaw brought up the idea again.

“Ready to do the canoe trail? Next weekend’s going to be another beauty.”

Earl forwarded Steve’s email to me and I quickly replied.

“Sounds great to me,” I answered, because it did - at least at the moment. I love to experience different parts of the state and especially the areas that look very different than where we live here in our northwest Arkansas corner. I like big bald cypress trees growing in the water and calls of unfamiliar birds and sightings of other creatures that live in places like that. That was all I was thinking of at first.

Then, as the weekendgrew closer, it became apparent that we likely would do one night of primitive camping. I have mentioned before that, to me, this is as much fun as taking a bite of an unripe persimmon, but I was willing to do it because of my overriding desire to experience a float on the bayou. Earl helped out by offering his best sleeping bag to keep me warm. When our research revealed that the nighttime temperature would drop below 30, I packed extra clothes so I could really layer up for bed time and wondered if I could sleep if I were too bundled to move. Still, it’s better than freezing, I reasoned. I was thinking positive, determined to go with the flow, be a happy camper and have a good time.

We met Steve and Elaine with their canoe at the North Road camping area on the bayou around noon. We ate a picnic lunch of smoked chicken sandwiches and chocolate coffee cake and by the time we had finished, the guys had a plan. Instead of driving the extra miles to leave a shuttle vehicle at a different take-out spot, we would paddle along the bayou as long as we wanted to that afternoon and then return to the campsite where the trucks and our camping gear awaited. With very little current, it was possible to paddle any direction on the water with no problem.

The midday sun was at its warmest and the still, brown water reflected shadows from the tall trees, creating plenty of calls to carefully remove the camera from its safe place in the waterproof bag long enough to snap a few pictures. The bayou’s main channel was marked with easily visible blue signs attached high up on tree trunks making it easy to find our way around. This is no small detail for a person with my sense of direction!

After a nice float, we returned in our canoes to the campground and began to decide where to set up camp for the night. For one reason or another, no site seemed just right.

Then Elaine mentioned the “M” word, you know, “motel.” I chimed in with a second and the guys kicked the idea around a bit.

To make a long story short, I will just say that I slept very comfortably in a king size bed that night. We got up the next morning and enjoyed coffee and waffles that didn’t have to be made over a portable propane burner. We then took off to do some more sightseeing before hitting the road to return to our neck of the woods where two happy dogs awaited us.

Maybe we wimped out a bit by choosing comfort over camping, but as the song goes (well, sort of), “Son of a gun, we still had big fun on the bayou.”

Annette Rowe is a freelance writer from rural Gentry and a speech-language pathologist at Siloam Springs High School. She may be reached by email at [email protected].

Opinion, Pages 5 on 02/01/2012