# DFWAPC & HAAPS San Marcos River Trip



## WRabbit (Dec 13, 2010)

I left Dallas @ 6:30am Saturday for the drive to San Marcos and arrived at Aquarena Springs @ 10:45am for our planned 11:00am rendezvous. The first familiar faces I encountered were Sue and Pam who had also made the morning drive from DFW.

*Alta (Sue) modeling her wading gear



Bill, Drinda, DaveMonkey, and Kim plan our adventure!



San Marcos Springs @ Aquarena Springs on the Texas State University campus.



Sag and Cabomba were abundant in this area.



Kevin telling us a story.....



Saltgrass for lunch on the patio, overlooking the river.



After lunch we couldn't resist exploring the river behind Saltgrass.



Kevin and Drinda examining a plant.... Bill looking for gold.



It was a fun afternoon!..... Even Drinda was happy! (She's always happy.)


*

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I'll post the next round of pictures soon....

Jim


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

so where are all the plants you collect? looks like a fun trip, maybe next summer i will be able to go.


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## Tex Guy (Nov 23, 2008)

Nice pics. Thanks for sharing.


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## WRabbit (Dec 13, 2010)

*Day Two
Sunday May 22nd, 2011*

HeyPK (Paul) from central Mississippi drove over 500 miles to meet up with us in San Marcos. He camped in New Braunfels on the Guadalupe River and traveled between New Braunfels and San Marcos both days. Paul had made this trip in 2004 and had found crypts (beckerii) near an old 50's aquatic plant farm that used the river to grow their "crop". One of our goals was to find these crypts. Unfortunately, they are considered invasive and the state has done its best to eradicate these plants from the river. After our trip produced no crypts, we concluded the state had been successful in reducing their numbers.

Paul and I decided to hook up Sunday and take a canoe trip down the river. We went to TG Canoe and Kayak rental next to Pecan Park. We chose the 5 mile trip and put in at John Stokes San Marcos River City Park around noon.

Here's a few pictures from our adventure.
*
We rented a 2 person canoe at TG Canoes and Kayaks



HeyPK (Paul) gathers his gear



Unloading the canoe



Getting ready to launch below a dam



The dam...



First Water



There were quite a few obstacles in our path. We went under this one to the right



Turtles (Red Eared Sliders?) basking in the sun. We saw many.



This Cyprus is in the middle of the river. The base is the size of a large Hummer.



This must be a popular spot....



A-Frame island. I figure it won't be long before sediment settles/catches here and an island forms.



This hyacinth and elephant ear patch (75-80 feet wide) was one of the larger ones we found. Both are considered invasive and are in line to be removed.



Water lily, Taro (elephant ears), and water hyacinth.



A nice stretch of the river. The water is blue-green and has very little sediment. Most cloudiness is due to decaying organic matter or excessive turbulence.



Approaching the (privately owned) Cummings Dam



We had to portage around the dam and had to lower the canoe 15-20 feet down the spillway via rope. We found the spillway to be covered with various ferns.



The old wood and stone Cummings Dam, located on the San Marcos River just below the confluence of the Blanco River. The dam was built in 1905-1914 for irrigation and generation of electricity.



More Cyprus



We encountered hundreds of inebriated tubers the last 3/4 mile. It was a chore to get through them all. We pulled out to the left side of the picture, ending our 5 mile float.

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Although we didn't find crypts, we enjoyed the trip, fresh air, sun, and bikini-clad tubers.

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*Link to HeyPK's 2004 San Marcos River report*

Jim

PS: More pics to follow.
................


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

looks like a really fun time, what did you two do with the plants? it looks like you found some african fern... when is the june meeting?


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## Tex Guy (Nov 23, 2008)

Glad you had a good time. We may have crossed paths because we were leaving right about the time you were arriving.


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## WRabbit (Dec 13, 2010)

*The Bounty*



Tex Guy said:


> Glad you had a good time. We may have crossed paths because we were leaving right about the time you were arriving.


I called before noon and left a message on TexGal's cell. She called back a few hours later about half-way through our canoe trip and said you were breaking camp. I wish the two of you could have accompanied us. We definitely need to do this again.

*-===============-*

*The Bounty*

*We gathered a few plants for scientific purposes. *

























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The plants I brought back have been dipped in Potassium Permanganate solution. The lily and taro have been added to my pond and a few aquatic plants have been planted in aquariums.

Jim

PS: I bet we have better attendance next time.


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

cobama(sp?) luwiga, red rubin, sagateria, and anuchris (spelling?) BLA  i know i can't spell. but any ways that what i spot in the tubs, don't know what the other plants are. drinda ))))))))))))))))))


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## TanyaQ2000 (Jan 31, 2010)

dang it!!!! i want some elephant ears soooo bad....nice piece of DW too....Jim, you scored!!!! awesome....let me know when I can swing by and pick up my plants.... LMAO!!!!


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Is that _Potamogeton illinoensis_? I think I remember that species being listed as occuring in the river, but I can't find the source where I "think" I got that information. I'll keep hunting to be sure unless someone else knows.


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Okay, I found it. Page 3 lists most of the species in the river that we saw (excpet they did not list the _Ludwigia palustris _we found...unless it was truely _L. repens_). Get a look at the bottom of that page where it lists %biomass at each sample point. The major "heavy-hitters" are both noxious/invase species.  I know they were only counting propagules/floating bits...but that shows how well-suited these invasives are to spreading compared to the natives.

http://apms.org/japm/vol39/v39p75.pdf


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## WRabbit (Dec 13, 2010)

davemonkey said:


> Is that _Potamogeton illinoensis_? I think I remember that species being listed as occuring in the river, but I can't find the source where I "think" I got that information. I'll keep hunting to be sure unless someone else knows.


Yes, it is Potamogeton illinoensis. Here's a source: *San Marcos Observing System*

We found this mid-river in shallow water with swift-flowing current. HeyPK spotted it as we passed by. A quick u-turn and upstream paddling resulted in us grabbing a few stems.



Jim


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## WRabbit (Dec 13, 2010)

davemonkey said:


> http://apms.org/japm/vol39/v39p75.pdf


Great link! Thanks for sharing.

You mentioned a map that shows the approximate location of the Cryptocoryne beckettii. Do you have a link for that?

Jim


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

A few more photos:


















This green heron was completely habituated to people and was intent on catching a fish. A wild green heron would not let me get within 50 yards. 









Saltgrass restaurant.


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## Tex Guy (Nov 23, 2008)

What an outstanding image of the heron!


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