We stopped at a State park in Arkansas at Lake Chicot. The lake is the largest oxbow lake in North America and the largest natural lake in Arkansas, formed 600 years ago by the meandering of the Mississippi River.
The name Chicot, French for stumpy, is after the many cypress stumps and trees along its banks. The lake is approximately 3/4 miles wide and 21–22 miles long from end to end. Many private residences are located along the shores of the lake and the extreme northern end consists of the State Park.
Evenings provided lovely sunsets seen across the lake and through the pecan and cypress trees prevalent here.
Trust me, there are Bald Cypress lining the far shore nearly a mile distant. We had a lot of cloudy, cool weather while there and did not get many good pictures. Fishing for crappie, bass, and bream is popular on the lake, especially on the upper end of Lake Chicot during spring and fall. Fishing for catfish is great throughout the year. A camper nearby to us was from Louisiana and he went out fishing early each morning and returned early afternoon. I spoke to him and he told me he comes about four times a year for catfish and this time his catch was low! He said he had "only" about 65 fish in his 4 days when he said he normally gets as many as 175 to take home! There is no possession limit on catfish on Lake Chicot and two other lakes in Arkansas. I saw him pack one he estimated to weigh 25 pounds into a cooler.
One afternoon I looked outside to see the ground covered by blackbirds apparently feeding on fallen pecans. They covered at least four times the area shown in this photo!
Dixie was tormented by squirrels such as this visitor to our grill. I had not seen such coloring on a squirrel before and was pleased to learn it is an Eastern Fox Squirrel. They would rip and race around the trees chattering all the while and Dixie was frustrated that they climbed just out of her reach and turned to face her!
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