Documenting the Diversity of Dallas/Fort Worth Urban Wildlife Since 2005
Trinity River Adventure
Dateline – November 3, 2012
I recently had the great privilege of joining a small group of urban wilderness explorers on a canoe trip down the Trinity River through the very heart of Dallas’ Great Trinity Forest. What a day it was!
Be forewarned, though, if your read too many of the articles on Dallas Trinity Trails you are certain to feel as if you are missing out by not seeing the Great Trinity Forest for yourself (because you are). Anyhow, read his write up, and then come back here for a look at a few pictures I took. Hopefully, they will further illustrate some of the places we visited along the way…
Downtown Dallas as viewed from our launch site.Limestone seeps and the MKT Trestle.The Proctor and Gamble Pumphouse.Approaching Interstate 45.Nearing the waste water treatment plant release near South Central Expressway. The site of Miller’s Ferry is right around the bend.This location is the site of Miller Ferry. This spot was important all throughout the second half of the 1800’s. Notice the fishermen in the background. That’s the South Central Expressway bridge in the distance.A closer look at the concrete-filled iron pillar at the site of Miller’s Ferry.My impression of White Rock Creek was formed in and around White Rock Lake in north Dallas. The creek is different at its confluence with the Trinity River. Its significantly less impressive than you might expect. Here, we were only a couple of dozen yards upstream from the river and there was no place else to go.The embankment between Lemmon Lake and the Trinity River is about to erode away at this spot. It will be interesting to see what, if any, effect a breach will have on the lake’s ability to hold water. Remnants of the pipeline seen in this photograph were to be found all along the length of Lemmon Lake.Approaching McCommas Bluff and the end of a nearly ten mile canoe trip. The only thing left? Hauling the canoes to the top of the cliffs with ropes.One of the many interesting things seen on this trip were the remains of the old 1893 lock and dam. Many of the original timbers and iron rods are still on site.Another look at the 1893 lock and dam cribwork—only one of many historical points of interest to be found on the Trinity River in Dallas, Texas.Lock and Dam Number One up close. This massive concrete structure was built in the early 1900s, and is just downstream from the 1893 lock and dam site.
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