Month: February 2025

It Really Happened

/ doubledacres / 4 Comments

One rainy afternoon I pulled up in the campground and I noticed a group of women standing outside the bathrooms. Then a little girl comes flying round the corner so fast I thought something was chasing her. She was hollering something, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying. The moment she stopped in front of me I understood what she was saying. Snake!!! You have to get it out!!! Finally, after I got her calmed down, I was able to piece everything together. There was a big snake in the women’s bathroom.

I walked to the bathroom and the group was gathered about 300 feet from the women’s bathroom. They told me the same story the little girl had told me. I grabbed the grabber we use to pick up trash and headed for the door. I slowly opened the door. All I knew about the snake was that it was big and possibly brown, black, blue or tan. I looked in the first stall there was no snake, so I headed to the next stall and “jackpot”!!!!! There it was! A big ole black snake about 5 to 6 foot long. There was about 2 foot of his tail coming out of the toilet down to the floor. About 2 feet of its head was sticking out from under the seat and bowl. It was quite angry also. I don’t think it was treated to well by the group outside.

I took the grippers and got it behind the neck and took my hand and grabbed it behind the head and pulled it out. I am six feet, and it went all the way to my shoulder, and it wrapped around my arm and the tail went back down to my elbow and wrapped a couple more times. I hollered to the ladies that I was coming out. As I walked out the door I had to laugh when I saw the space they gave me. You would have thought I was bringing Godzilla out of the bathroom. One lady asked me not to kill it in front of the kids. I said ma’am, there is no way I’m killing this snake, he is very beneficial.

Well, the chatter got loud, and one lady asked what I was going to do with it. I told her I was going to walk up the hill and turn it lose in the rocks. Then there were a couple that displayed their unpleasure and screamed, it could come back. I am going to take it up far enough that it won’t come back.

As I walked away, I could hear them moaning and groaning and saying I should have killed it. It was at that very minute, that I realized that I probably wouldn’t be receiving Christmas Cards from them this year. I got about a quarter mile and came to a huge rock formation and turned him lose. I never seen a snake move that fast and held its tail in such a way that it was saying I was Number 1!!!!

I hope you enjoyed the story. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read it. You are very much appreciated.

The Mighty Heron

/ doubledacres / 1 Comment

The Ardeidae family known as herons, egrets and bitterns are long -necked and long- legged wading water birds that feed off aquatic animals. I just happened to stumble onto one of their nesting grounds in the Mark Twain National Forest.

During this time, they make the most horrible sound you ever heard. We had people insist that they heard bigfoot. I got several pictures of herons, but they are very difficult to stalk. They have keen eyesight, and their stalker is usually seen long before they get close to them.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. At this time, I would like to ask everyone to respect Mother Earth. Please don’t litter. If you pack it in pack, it out.

The End of a Good Time

/ doubledacres / 15 Comments

For two years this was our home for 8 months out of the year. I really loved being a campground host. It did have its moments though when I wondered why I am doing this. The good moments outweighed the bad moments. Once I was done with the daily duties, I was able to do the things I enjoyed doing. I thank Chris Woods of the US Forest Service for giving me this opportunity.

The Forest Service provided us with a golf cart to get around the park. These two got used to the cart and got over their fear of it. I watched these two for about 25 minutes to get this capture.

The Herons were hard to stalk. Always on alert for any movement and ready to take flight. One morning I was lucky enough to get close enough and capture it as it was taking flight.

These are some of my favorite captures from the park.

Credit Jason Wilson Photography

I got to hike the trails, fish and pan for gold. Last year I put over 30 pounds of fish in the freezer.

Sadly, I won’t be returning in 2025. I was diagnosed with peripheral foot neuropathy, which is very painful. I am currently receiving treatments from PC Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, MO. I have only had 4 treatments, and I am very satisfied with the results I have received. It also affects one’s balance. Mine was so bad I couldn’t pass a sobriety test stone cold sober. They have even helped with me with that. I am also retaining water in my legs and feet, and I have an appointment with a vein specialist in March.

I also made a lot of friends. I introduce Jason who I met at the park. He too is a photographer, and damn good at it, we took a lot of pictures.

Another chapter in my book of life comes to an end. I am going to miss this place, but I will be visiting frequently, if my health allows me to, in the capacity of one of the campers visiting Silver Mines Campground.

I am currently working on publishing a coffee table book titled, Missouri Through the Lens. It will be made up of photos of rural Missouri. Places not on the beaten path. It will contain some photos taken Silver Mines.