The Adventures at Hyco Lake

The Adventures at Hyco Lake

There is no better feeling in this world than to be outdoors with nature, especially when there are numerous activities to dabble in. Often times people take for granted the sentimental value that they can experience by simply walking through a park. God created the Earth to be beautiful and peaceful, and people need to keep it that way. I have always shared a love of the outdoors with my dad and my brother. We have gone on numerous camping, hiking, fishing, and star-gazing trips ever since I can remember. It was no surprise to me when my dad decided to buy a lake house on Hyco Lake, right outside of Roxboro. We got a really good deal on the house, so my dad decided that Hyco Lake was the perfect spot.

Hyco Lake was constructed in the 1960's by Carolina Power and Light as a cooling reservoir for the steam electric generating plant. The Lake was filled in 1965 after Hurricane Hilda came through and filled the reservoir. The power plant located on Hyco Lake heats the water, but cooling units were built in the early 70's to keep the water temperature down. However, near my house on the islands of South Hyco, the water is heated so you can go swimming almost year-round. Recently, I have not been able to go as much as I would like because of the drought we have been experiencing.

This past Easter weekend my family and I went to the lake, and it was the most fun that I have had in awhile. Hyco Lake is actually located in Semora, NC, which is only about fifteen minutes outside of Roxboro. Most of Roxboro and all of Semora is country, so it is not unusual to see animals running wild. We bring our dog along so she can run wild and be one with the other wild animals. When we got to the house the first thing that I did was walk down to the dock to check the water temperature to see if it was warm enough to go swimming. I was about halfway down the driveway when I saw a huge water moccasin laying out in the sun at the bottom of the driveway. Water moccasins are very poisonous, so I know not to mess with them. I threw a rock at it, and sure enough it ran away into the water. The water temperature was bearable, so I decided to take the jet ski out for a spin. My brother and I messed around on the jet skis for about an hour, then we decided to go to the marina and grab a bite to eat. The rest of the day I laid around on the dock to try and get a tan, and we also went out on the boat with my dad to go intertubing. Every night the animals come out of the woods, so I took my dog out on the leash with a flash light. If you stand at the edge of the woods and shine the flashlight towards the woods, you can always see red eyes lurking in the brush. Also, if you walk along the roads, you can always see deer standing around. Normally I would be scared to go out and look around like this, but these animals do not have much experience with humans, so they naturally run away the moment that they see you. Being in the country with all the nature at your hands is so peaceful because you can just look up at the sky and see millions of stars twinkling in the distance. Looking at the stars can often be one of the most relaxing events because of the beauty of our solar system. I have so many countless questions about space that I can often lay for hours and look at the stars while contemplating all of the questions that I have about life. An environment such as this enables a person to get in touch with their inner-self.

The beautiful flowers and plants started to bloom about a month ago, so the aroma around the house was wonderful. Early the next morning, my dad woke my brother and me up to go Bass fishing. The fish are not abundant near the houses, but they do thrive where Cobb's creek and Hyco river converge. That day we were not having much luck with the fish, so we gave up, and got off the boat at one of the designated nature points. This designation has a path where you can walk through a huge colony of oak