Date of Visit: 20 Sept 2024
Kirby, AR
85º feels like 97º ~ enough said
I set out for Daisy State Park, park #33, knowing that the everlasting summer heat was not giving up this year. Nevertheless, I persevered and got in a good morning’s kayak on Lake Greeson. This park, like so many of the “lake” parks, draws mostly campers and folx intent on fishing or boating. I paddled in the shade near the shoreline (I do not kayak out in the depths when alone) and watched people in bass boats cast their chances into the clear water. As a beginner kayaker, the fact that the state parks rent kayaks, including the life jacket, has opened up a whole new way for me to interact with the landscape on these trips. Seeing the lake & shore at nearly eye-level and slowing down to a paddle pace means I see what I might miss when hiking a lakeside trail.
On this trip, I pulled my kayak down from the wooden storage structure with a huge thunk. Park staff stored the solo kayaks above the doubles, perhaps because of the weight of the doubles, but for someone traveling alone who is “height challenged” I was glad no one was around to watch my folly. Once on the water, though, I settled in and let the kayak glide into the shadows. For the first half of my outing, glass calm water meant easy going and the ability to peer down at the silt-covered rocky bottom. The occasional wake from the fishing boats rippled beneath me and meant a few extra dips of the paddle to keep me off shore. From the trees above me, I listened to Carolina chickadees and crows. I startled up one great blue heron and it spread those gorgeous wings (I always imagine them so disgruntled by my interruption) to sail across the lake.
As I moved along, I took my time, poking into each cove and stopping to snap pictures of countless trees, exposed roots, and tumbles of sandstone. On one such stop near the end of my route, nose of the kayak wedged between two rocks to hold me there while I took pictures, I heard a snuffling among the dry leaves. A closer look revealed an armadillo! Say what you will of the small armored creatures, if you ever get the chance to see one up close and study the delicate features of its face, I dare you not to be charmed. When the squat creature waddled off into the brambles, I pushed off and headed back to the dock.
Lake Greeson, like nearly all the lakes in Arkansas, was created by the Army Corps of Engineers. The need for flood control and hydroelectric power helped shape Arkansas into “the natural state” as it stands today. Given our ever erratic weather, I’m grateful for the flood control, but whenever I’m on one of these human-created lakes, I tend to drift into wondering about what rests beneath me. What remnants of the pre-flooded world would remain could I walk the bottom and dig?
Up Next: DeGray Lake Resort