So, what exactly would one expect to find on a lakebed that hasn’t been exposed for well over forty years?
Why, tracks, trash and “treasure”, of course.
And, in that order, let’s have a look.
People feet (bare and shod), coon feet and bird feet all in one shot
Tracks
Availability, sustainability and curiosity result in a diverse band of visitors to the exposed lakebed. The pictures above and below feature a few of the footprints observed as I left my own among the collection.
My contribution to Bigfoot evidence with the large footprint crossing upper right of photo
Trash
Sadly, there is plenty of this to be observed as well, mostly in the form of cans and bottles during my walks around the expanded shorelines. I was a little late to the party though as it sounds as if I missed a few surprising items as well as some expected pieces of lost now found. Among the former group were reports of a mattress, a lawn mower and some car parts. In terms of the latter, there were cell phones, car keys and a camera. I suppose that last group of items are inevitable over time as people take to the water. Perhaps the sight of the other trash will encourage folks to pack out what they pack in or invest those few extra steps to the ample supply of trash cans. It never ceases to amaze that people can haul in full beverage containers or bags of food yet can’t haul out the much more manageable empties.
Not surprisingly this assortment was gathered near the Lake of the Hills boat ramp
Must admit to this one a few times over the years whether actually golfing or just goofing
Treasure
“Treasure” hunting for me was represented by the search for some fishing related tackle. But once again, plenty of people beat me to the punch leaving nothing salvageable behind. It was entertaining though to find some relics and grin at the mystery revealed as to what sort of snag wrested the lures from the anglers’ tackleboxes.
While I have never made a single cast in the bodies of water at West Lake Park, I sure can relate to incidentally leaving a few things behind. Personally, over the last 40 years or so on various fishing holes I have both contributed and witnessed some “donated” items. Starting, of course, with more than a few lures that managed to snag some underwater objects, both known and unknown. There’s also a fishing pole, an anchor, a University of Wyoming baseball cap, a fish basket, a shirt, a tape measure, part of an oar…you know, pretty standard stuff over the course of a fishing lifetime.
Did I mention “Bigfoot”? Strange creation found amidst the various tracks…
One more West Lake post coming your way tomorrow as we look at what I find to be the most fascinating items out there on the lakebed…”Secrets.” Talk to you later. Troy