Surfing on a River

Catching a ride on a wave on the West Fork of the Trinity River.

   The month of May in Texas has been a sequence of deluge storms raising lake levels and filling streams far over their banks. With that much water flowing down stream, some of the low water damns in the area start to form perfect standing waves. On the West Fork of the Trinity River just down stream of the spillway at Lake Worth there is one of these waves with an eddy that is strong enough to pull flotsam right up to the wave. Watching for a minute, it becomes obvious that on a surfboard with a quick paddle it would put a rider right into the wave and for some great rides. This morning, that is exactly what I did. To the sheer amusement of a couple of folks passing by, I rode an endless wave for hours till the water level started to go back down. Getting kicked out just meant a quick tumble in the wash cycle created by the waves and a quick escalator ride right back to the start. Perfect example of the old saying,"If you get lemons, make lemonade."