Choke Canyon State Park

Our exploration of this new state park began early this morning. Choke Canyon reservoir covers 26,000 acres and we were up at dawn because I thought I would be able to catch the sunrise over water as I did the sunset last night, since the huge reservoir actually wraps around our campground. Now lest you think catching a sunrise is quite noble of us, the sun rises here about 7:00 am, so dawn is not a difficult date to keep. I am enthralled by the changing colors of the sunrise. The early moments, while the sky was still quite dark, were very red.

After a few minutes, the sky is orange before turning to gold.

I think I must be among the more fortunate people on this planet that I can greet the morning sun and leisurely watch as it changes the color of the sky. I can remember a time in my life in Montana when I thought that if I could just get out of my little neighborhood with its big pine trees and two story Victorian houses and see the mountains every day I would be okay. And my walks in Montana would often take me to views of those mountains. I count myself among the lucky ones to be so inspired by the beauty of nature.

Since the lake is so large, pictures of it don't do it justice. I will find a different vantage point tomorrow for a better picture.

My park brochure says that white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, and javelinas are commonly seen in this park. Chorro spotted the white-tailed deer first.

And I was pleased to get a picture of the wild turkeys with my telephoto lens.

Then we went back to the RV to make lunch. Today was warm and sunny, so I left the door open and had the screen door in place. Shortly, Chorro began to bark his very quiet little "uff, uff," that he has learned to use to not scare game away. I looked up and through my screen door, here is what I saw.

Yes indeed those same wild turkeys I had stalked with my telephoto lens had followed us home. I was surprised but Chorro was indignant. A couple of sharp barks and they vacated his territory.


But no javelinas. So I spent the afternoon putting another coat of roof repair on the patch. Remember the patch? Here's how it looks now.

This picture is a little deceptive. I think my finger is over the lens on the right side, making it look like the entire width of the RV roof is being patched, but really it is a patch about two feet square. It would be nice to get one more coat on it before it's exposed to rain.

Here's the view from "up on the roooooof."

So went today day in the life of a venturing vagabond and a wandering wonder dog.

Tomorrow is a new day.