A Relaxing Time at Hell's Gate

  

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Ah, getting away. Those two simple words, when paired together, can wash such a feeling of relaxation over a person. Even if where they are at or what they are doing is nowhere near relaxing. There are many places to get away from the everyday hustle and bustle, with one of my favorites being the lake. ‘The lake’ is almost as general a term as the phrase ‘getting away,’ as I may be referring to any number of lakes I’ve gotten to go to, but no matter where I’m headed geographically the end result is the same. In fact, I don’t know that there is any way you cannot go and be relaxed at the lake. It is always a great time, and my Dallas photographer side always seems to find something interesting to photograph.

Recently I spent a guy’s weekend with some of my buddies at a friend’s lake house on Possum Kingdom Lake. There were some great highlights, including the chance to do target shooting with almost every caliber of gun imaginable, and eating massive manly burgers with grilled green onions and jalapenos. And of course sitting around the fire smoking cigars, with the sky lit up with an impossible number of stars was amazing. However, one of my favorite parts of the trip was when we decided to take the boat out and check out Hell’s Gate. Yes, we were boating in the wintertime, but as you may have noticed, the lakes in Texas aren’t exactly frozen right now.

Now a name like Hell’s Gate doesn’t sound like a leisurely destination, but we had to go visit. In case you don’t know, Hell’s Gate is a great chasm between two cliffs, and the view of it, especially up close, is something else. The cliffs were about a fifteen or twenty minute boat ride from the house, and we managed to get there right around sunset, which was perfect for the Dallas photographer in me. I can’t remember if I had ever been this close to them, though I certainly saw them many a time while attending scout camp at Camp Constantin, which is just across the lake.

My friend Ryan took the boat right up to the cliffs, and you could see all the different variations and texture in the rock, which I am always a fan of as a Dallas photographer.  I took several angles, and tried to show the expanse of the cliffs, and then we headed back. Since there wasn’t much wind or boat traffic, the lake was as smooth as glass, so we got to drive it wide open almost the entire time to and from the gate, and it was so nice to be able to feel the cool wind on my face. That is vacation at its finest.

To top things off, there was a gorgeous sunset that I shot right as we got back to the house, I got it just as it was going out over the lake. I hope you enjoy the images, and may they get you ready for the summer ahead!