I’ll admit it, I like reality television shows. No, I’m not talking about the shows with entitled brats doing nothing all day, or pompous housewives with plastic surgeons on speed dial, or spoiled kids who will never work a day in their life. I like the adventure and travel shows where people go around the world and experience stuff most of us will never have the opportunity to.

Now, I’ll probably never have the chance to take an expedition across a continent but that doesn’t stop The Boy and me from making our own miniature expeditions right in our own backyard.  This week we threw the kayaks in the water and had our very own Expedition Lake Tyler.

So it might not be as glamorous as say climbing Everest or hiking across the Sahara but when you’re ten seeing something new (even if it only a half mile from your house) is exciting.

I know you’re well aware of this but we’re in the middle of a drought and the lakes are showing it.  This particular lake is over four feet low which means there is a lot of ground to explore that hasn’t been exposed in the last five years.  The first thing I noticed on our little exploration was the amount of trash.  Apparently someone is missing a car because we found four tires, a car battery, and I’m pretty sure there was a hood out there.  We also spotted countless bottles, cans, an ice cream freezer, and the top to a bikini.  The next trip will include a trash bag to pick up all the junk we saw and while I’m on the topic, pick up your trash when you’re on the lake.  Nothing gives us a bigger black eye than the trash see all over the places we like to fish or hunt.

The next thing we found was a large dead turtle.  Just for future reference, little boys think these are cool.  There were deer and coon tracks, fish skeletons, and mussels leaving trails in the mud as they slowly moved along the edges of the water.

 We also had the chance to see stumps and logs that are normally underwater which gave me the opportunity to explain where bass live, how they hide and what they use for cover.

 Not bad for a 45 minute adventure.