Near Holtzclaw Creek

It was a yet another good day to get out on the motorcycle, so I jumped on and headed north. Living on the edge of the city affords perfect opportunity to escape the masses, and evade traffic quickly, and north is simply the quickest way out. There is usually no particular destination, although I usually prefer to define some sort of plan.

I wandered the back roads and rolling hills of Clay County, noting all the continuing development. It is a bit disappointing to see so much good fertile land falling under the wrong sort of plow. Development in the county has been booming since before the market crash, and the staggering amount of subdivisions is forever changing the landscape. Those farms that are not falling prey to developers are disappearing in favor of McMansions on five or so acres of land, to satisfy the trendy urbanites seeking their home in the country. Unfortunately, they do not usually give anything back; they just waste the space, planting nothing better than a tiny garden and acres upon acres of grass.

Heading north along Highway C to escape this depressing scenery too, I thought I might make the loop around Smithville Lake. I remembered another mission though. In the last couple of years, investigating some of the various access points has been high on the agenda. I am always looking for that little quiet spot to put the kayak in, beyond the reach of fishing and pleasure boats racing through.

I found a recent cleared spot that I had been meaning to check out, near the bend at Arley. Shallow water and cattails dominate the stream valley seen from the bridge, which crosses a part of the lake called Holtzclaw Creek. Pulling into the unmarked access point, a couple of signs pointed to trails; Access 20 and Access 21 are the best that memory serves. A short unmarked path also led about 10 steps to the water.

Closer inspection suggested that a good dosing of bug repellent might be in order though. The area is littered with cattails, and dense trees growing out of extremely still and seemingly dead water. It should be no surprise with all the surrounding farmland. Excess nutrients have encouraged massive algae blooms, robbing the water column of oxygen, and making this location little more than a mosquito-ridden swamp. It can be conquered though, and perhaps after a good rain, I will make the effort.