River

Silver Mines a Missouri Gem

/ doubledacres / 10 Comments

Believe me when I tell you as a campground host in Silver Mines, that you won’t become rich in a monetary sense, but you will leave rich in memories. Part of our job was to lock the gate into the Turkey Creek Day Use Area at 10 pm and unlock it at 6 am. I would leave at 5:30 am to go unlock the gate. I loved that part of my job. The deer became use to our golf cart and would let me get pretty close to them. I also saw some beautiful sunrises.

Bulletin Board at Turkey Day Use area. The pay tube is to the right of it.
River Loop Campground Bulletin Board. There was electric at these sites.
Sunrise on the St Francis River in Silver Mines

Steps on the trail leading to the Summit Campground.
One of the trail signs.

We would police the park for trash every day. I wish I had a penny for every cigarette butt we picked up. We probably picked up a coffee can full a week. Soda cans, beer bottles, Wal Mart bags, fast food wrappers, and even dirty diapers along the road were also a problem. We worked hard to keep the park free of litter.

Water over the old highway D bridge.
Flood water rushing over the rocks, on the St Francis River.

It was a weird year as far as the weather. The first week we were there in March we had a lot of rain causing the river to rise. The river came up pretty fast and then it crested. That was a teaser because a couple of hours later, it started rising again with a vengeance, rising 2 foot an hour. We almost had to move the camper to higher ground, it was close, very close, but at the last minute, it started dropping. The river got over the old highway D bridge 5 times this year.

Thanks for stopping by and reading. It is very much appreciated.

Campground Hosts at Silver Mines

/ doubledacres / 6 Comments

What does a campground host actually do? I can only answer to what we did at Silver Mines. To be accepted as campground hosts, we had a background check, got fingerprinted and signed a Volunteer Agreement. We read it but we don’t remember what it said, it was back in March, and we never did get a copy of it even though we were told we would get one.

Our duties were to clean firepits and bathrooms, empty the garbage cans, keep the park clean, police campsites, (picking up any litter left by campers), and stock pay envelopes. Campers and day use, users filled out the envelopes, put payment inside the envelopes, sealed them and put them in a tube where forest service employees would come by and collect. This was done on an honor system. As volunteers we weren’t allowed to touch the money. We didn’t nor the forest service know if these people had paid or not.

We were also responsible for posting reservations on the campground site. We couldn’t take reservations, they were done online. Reservations were faxed to us on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Then as soon as possible we would post them on the proper campsites.

We also made sure campers abided by the rules. We rode through the park 2 to 3 times a day and the last we did at 10:00 pm to see if everyone was observing the “Quiet Time”. We helped campers find their sites, answer any questions that they might have. We gave out trail information, we hiked all of them to familiarize ourselves with the trails. The trail that goes to the Einstein Mine seems to be the favorite.

On a good note, we did get to meet a lot of good people, make new friends, and see some beautiful sites. There is an abundance of wildlife in the area. Beaver, herons or egrets, racoon, squirrels, and possums and its cousin the armadillo.

Thanks for reading.

March in Review

/ doubledacres / 11 Comments

I took a job as a camp cohost in Silver Mines Recreation Area, near Fredeicktown, Missouri. The following are pictures I took in March. We were almost flooded out at one point.

We are ready for some dry weather for a bit. It got close but we didn’t have to move.

Snow: You Either Hate It or Love It

/ doubledacres / 10 Comments

I happen to be one who loves the snow; however, the snow fall here in southeast Missouri doesn’t stay around real long. If I had to deal with it all winter long, like those in the deep north, I may be on the other side of the fence. Even if you are a hater of snow, you have to admit; it is quite beautiful.

NOTICE: All pictures are the property of Double D Acres LLC and cannot be used, reproduced or copied without written permission from Double D Acres LLC.

After the Shot

/ doubledacres / 9 Comments

With new technology and computers, the art of photography has changed immensely. Adobe and many more companies have added editing tools to enhance the photograph. The possibilities seem endless. I was a hold out until recently. I refused to use these tools until another photographer named Dave Shultz got me to think outside of the box.

Now photographers aren’t finished after the shot. It is just the beginning. I prefer Adobe’s Light Room. It is loaded with many possibilities. Like anything in life, there are those that love it and those who don’t. It does things that you can’t do with just a camera. New photo editing software has changed the world of photography. Good or bad, I think it will be around for a while. What say you?

Thanks for reading. I would love to hear what others think.

The St. Francis River

/ doubledacres / 16 Comments

“The river has great wisdom and whispers its secrets to the hearts of men.”

Mark Twain

The St. Francis River is 426 miles long and is located in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas. It is only floatable in spring or after heavy rains. It passes through Wappapello Lake that was a result of a dam that was constructed in 1941. Anglers can fish for largemouth and smallmouth bass. There are also catfish, bluegill, sunfish, and crappie. The St. Francis is the most diverse Ozark stream.

The Hubb’s, golden and spothanded crayfish make the St. Francis their home and can only be found in the Ozarks of Missouri and northern Arkansas. The St. Francis crayfish is only found here and nowhere else in the world. Six mussel species are also found here.

Two state parks that the St. Francis River meanders through are Silver Mines Recreation Area and Sam A Baker state park and both have camping available. Sam A Baker has a separate equestrian campground. They also have hiking trails and picnic areas. Baker also has equestrian and bicycle trails.

High water over the bridge in Silver Mines
The water recedes

I have many fond memories of the river as an adult and as a child. I don’t know how many pounds of catfish we caught. We used to pay a farmer to cross his field to the St. Francis and we would set up camp. He had an old wooden boat he would also rent us. One night around 11 pm we were tight line fishing for catfish. Our camp was below Wappapello dam and too far away to hear the siren indicating they opened the dam gates. My mom stands up and said here comes a boat. Yep, you guessed it. Sure enough, our boat. We had pulled it up on the sand bar around the bend. The water had come up and set the boat free. We started trying to hook it and my dad finally hooked it and reeled it in.

My Take on Photography

/ doubledacres / 17 Comments

“Every artist has a central story to tell, and the difficulty, the impossible task, is trying to present that story in pictures.”

Gregory Crewdson

Photography is an art, and the photographer is the artist. There are those that will say this isn’t true however I have to disagree. Both must have a passion for what they do, along with creativity and a good imagination. A photographer only has one time to snap a photo then that moment is gone forever and can’t be recreated.

When l am framing a shot, I examine every possible angle I can shoot it from, then I imagine what I want it to look like. It requires an eye for detail, patience and flexibility. Light is a key composition and can greatly affect the photo. In a studio one can use artificial light but in nature one must learn to use what light is available.

When I take a picture, the subject must excite me. I sell my photographs and I have to rely on people buying them. If I’m not excited, I can’t expect the viewer to be excited. I have to capture the viewers’ attention and hope they buy it.

In Bruce Barnbaum’s book The Art of Photography Mr Barnbaum lists 14 elements of composition. They are light, color, contrast and tone, line, form, pattern, balance, movement, positive and negative space, texture, camera position, focal length, depth of field and shutter speed. There is so much more involved than point and shoot.

I am basically a landscape photographer. I love nature and am mesmerized by a river. Sunrises and sunsets always grab my attention. It never seems to fail that I see the best ones when I am driving down the road. They can be short lived, and the photographer has to act quickly. When I go hiking, I always have my camera with me. Quite frankly I suck at portraits, and I am in awe of those who have mastered it. Wedding photographers I think have the hardest job. It takes a lot of patience and creativity with some imagination. I am in awe of them.

There was only about 10 minutes between these two photos, and it changed quickly. I took them in Silver Mines Recreation area. This is the St. Francis River that meanders through the park. It is located between Ironton and Fredericktown, Mo. Kayakers love this area and have kayak races here in the spring when the water is up. When the water level is up the kayakers head for the river.

I hope I haven’t bored you with my photos. In closing I am going to post a few more photos I took when hiking at Silver Mines.

The first two were taken of the trail and the last one was a photo of what is left of the damn that was built when the old silver mine was in operation. Thanks for reading and remember to be kind to one another and spread the love.

Life Is Like A River

/ doubledacres / 11 Comments
St Francis River

On a recent visit to Silver Mines Recreation Area, I sat and watched the water of the river flowing under the bridge located in the park.

When we arrived at the park the water was up and running over the bridge I was sitting on, now watching the river run under the bridge. Like life the river has its lows and highs.

St Francis River

As I sat looking up river I watched as the river rolled past the rocks headed for its final destination. It rolled past the rocks so gracefully not letting it stop it or slow it down. These rocks could represent the obstacles in our life. We need to approach our obstacles in life like the river deals with the rocks. We need to learn to roll around them and leave them behind us like the river and be thankful they are behind us.

St Francis River

At the end of the rapids there are deeper pools of slow moving water. Those waters represent the slow, peaceful times in our life when we can relax and enjoy the peace in our lives. A time when we can reflect back on where we have been and what we have accomplished. A time to be thankful for surviving all the obstacles we have faced.