“Do more of what you love” is a quote that’s been on my whiteboard, since last year. And for an entire year, it is read, unread, ignored, forgotten, etc. So this weekend I decided to learn at least one thing I have never learned before.
I scoured the multiple events nearby and shortlisted a couple. They went below the “do more of what you love quote” on my whiteboard.
Learning fishing at Eisenhower State Park
Now this is something, I would have never seen myself get into. But over the last couple of years, I have gotten closer to knowing where the food we eat comes from. This led to an interest in gardening and very quickly I realized how difficult it is. I had a new appreciation for the vegetables and fruits that seem to magically appear on grocery store shelves. I also was able to reduce my own food waste, one carrot at a time. So fishing, and what it takes to catch one, seemed like a good thing to try.
So on early Saturday morning, I left for Eisenhower Lake State Park. The park is around an hour and a half north of Dallas. Throughout the car journey, I was having a dilemma. What if there is no one there? What if they are all men? What if they are all hefty men with guns and beer bellies? What if they are all experts? What if I feel unsafe?
It’s amazing, the scenarios our brain conjures when we try to deviate from the safe, habitual routine. To quiten my unhelpful manic of a brain, I said, “We”ll see”.If it doesn’t feel safe we will just return home. There is no harm in going and analyzing the situation. I could hear my brain reluctantly quiten. The drive was really pretty as most drives in springtime prairies are. Lush green expanses that go on for as far as your eyes can see.
I walked to the meeting point, and what followed was a series of myth-busting events. In place of a hefty male ranger that I had imagined would teach us fishing, was a female ranger of about the same height as me. In place of the all-men students that I had expected to encounter, was a little kid and his father, a bunch of people who seemed my age and were from different ethnicities. I immediately felt comfortable.
Ranger Lindsay went through a bunch of pictures of different kinds of fish found in the lake. After that, she gave us each a fishing pole with plastic fish lures at the end. She said it’s really pretty easy, you just press the button, arch your fishing pole backward and when you are ready to catch some fish, just release it. Once done, reel your lure in, by rotating the wheel on the fishing pole.
It sounded easy, so to prove us wrong she had set up a fishing game. There was a blue tarp on the ground, with big plastic fish on it. Each fish had a slit in it, where our plastic lure could latch on. The game was to catch the maximum fish that you can. So we formed a big circle around the tarp and made our novice attempts to catch some fish. The first few minutes saw clumsy releases, entangled lines, and a tonne of laughter. But after a few tries most of us got a hang of it. I managed to catch one plastic fishy, like most others. Turns out the pro, who caught 3 fish wasn’t a hefty guy with a beer belly, as my fear-mongered mind had assured me of, but instead, it was an Asian girl probably younger than me.
After the fun practice session, was time for the real deal. Ranger Lindsay gave us upgraded fishing poles and shiny lures to catch the fish. We were also told how to reel in the line, once we feel a tug, so as to not hurt the fish. Once you reel in the fish you can see it and then release it back. We all set out for the rocky shoreline, hopeful. I sat on the edge of the rock and threw my lure in. Immediately, my line got caught in rocks below and the bobble broke.
I went back to Ranger Lindsay kind of embarrassed, but she was really sweet and gave me a few more tips. This time around, I was able to get my lure in the water at a respectable distance. I was elated. Then came the waiting game. Each of us participants thought that we would be the first one to catch a fish. But as the hour passed, our hopes, unlike the high sun in the sky started sinking. I could totally understand now, why they call fishing a training in patience.
Ranger Lindsay told us that as it gets hotter the fish go inside the water, to cooler places, away from the shore. She was then taking the group to a better spot. But I had to head back home, to my waiting doggo and other plans. So I said thanks to Ranger Lindsay and drove off. On the way back I stopped at Buccess to reward myself with a pulled pork sandwich for the days’ hard work and gobbled it up, happy that I had learned a new skill but more importantly proud that I tried something different and didn’t give in to my fears.
I didn’t take Kero with me to learn fishing, for obvious reasons. So on Sunday, I wanted to do something with him. And lo, I found the perfect event not too far from Dallas.
2) Bark in the park at Cooper Lake State Park
I have always wanted to do a ranger-led walk. I don’t think anyone knows the parks, as well as the rangers, do. We left home around 11 am. Kero loves car rides. He settled right in. Cooper lake state park is a park in east Texas. It’s very different from the vast plains of West Texas. It’s situated in the piney woods region. As we traveled eastward, vast plains gave way to dense, ground-hugging trees and cooler weather.
We soon reached the trailhead where I was expecting many dogs and humans. But there was only one car, that of Ranger Alicia. Maybe it was the weather or the distance but not many people showed up. On the upside, Kero and I got a private ranger-led walk. Throughout the walk ranger Alicia pointed out many wildflowers, mushrooms, trees, and birds. She showed me some ingenious apps which help you identify what you are looking at or what you are listening to.
She stopped by a tree and pointed out holes in the tree and asked me to guess what made those. I had no answer, the best I could come up with was squirrels. She told me that it was actually woodpeckers who make all these holes in search of tree sap.
She also told me about the oak trees that are native to the region. They are named eastern red oaks. I was very keen to absorb all this new information and so was Kero, absorbing all the new smells.
As I got to know Ranger Alicia more I realized that she wore many hats. Apart from being a wildflower expert she is also into birding and astronomy and conducts events related to those! But I think her best talent was hidden for the last part of our walk. I casually mentioned that I hope we don’t come across any rabbits or squirrels else Kero will bolt. She asked me if Kero recognizes squirrel sounds. That’s a question I had never thought about; so I just shrugged. At that, ranger Alicia made a loud sound mimicking squirrels. Kero turned around at the speed of 1000 miles per sec and looked straight at Ranger Alicia. He exactly knew what that sound was. But coming from a human, the look of bewilderment on his face was hilarious.
For the rest of the way, ranger Alicia told me about the conservation efforts the park is taking to bring back the native species and to let nature take over. After the walk, Kero and I drove around the state park to check out the campsites many of which were right next to a lake(mental note to camp here). We also saw a few dear cross the roads and hide in the forest. Kero barked at each of them. On the way back home, Kero slept for all of the 3 hours.
I was tired but super happy, to have met two such inspiring women in one weekend.
Resources –
Texas State Park Events – https://tpwd.texas.gov/calendar/state-park-events
Birding App – https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/
Wildflowers App – https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app
