Sunday, January 22, 2012

Skeet's Retreat

Skeet's Retreat is the name of David Carnal's unique fishing camp. It is located on the Ouachita River in Louisiana a little south of Arkansas. The camp is named after David's Father.


Notice the steel pipes at each corner of the building. The building has a sliding connector to each of the pipes that allow the building to go up and down with the river level. The river level, and the building, can go up and down 30 feet!


The fishing camp is an impressive combination of engineering and two story home sweet home.







At this time in January the camp can only be reached by boat. In the summer you can drive up to the back door and there is a lawn that requires mowing!







4 comments:

  1. i'm in love w/ the place!!
    Katie

    ReplyDelete
  2. I involuntarily gasped when I saw the wolf. That put it over the the top for me..

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Mr. Chuck,
    My husband and I are big Turner Classic Movie channel fans and a few nights ago we watched the movie, "Bound for Glory". It was based on the autobiography of the folk singer Woody Guthrie. The movie centers around his moving from dust bowl stricken Pampa, TX to just outside of Los Angeles, CA in 1936. The movie focused on the plight of field workers (pickers) and what Guthrie did to draw attention to their conditions and encourage them to form a union. It showed him playing shows in the "picker camps" and addressed the fact that many of the people of California were none too happy about the influx of the destitute "dust bowlers". For example, in the movie, the California police formed blockades on the main roads and would not let non-native people enter unless they had $5o and several scenes depicted the harsh treatment of the workers in the camps.
    Now, I understand that this was a movie, and like all movies the truth is often skewed for dramatic effect but the whole time we were watching it I couldn't help but think, "I wonder what Mr. Chuck remembers about this part of California history and what was his life like in 1936." I understand that you would have only been a young boy, but I know that from your bio and from several of your posts, that you were on your own from a very young age and that you had "many meals from the orchards". I wondered if you ever actually worked in the fields and if so, was it as bad as the movie made it out to be. Also, in the movie, Woody Guthrie had his own radio program on Los Angeles radio and I wondered if you ever listened to it.
    I hope that you don't think this is too weird a question but I thought it was just so interesting that I could get someone's point of view on the subject that was actually there while it was happening. I also hope that you don't think I am being critical of the actions of the people of California. I wasn't born until 1973 so I can only imagine what it was like to live during such hard times. Maybe this could be the topic of one of your future posts or you could just write some of your thoughts and memories of that time as a comment on this comment. I will keep my eye out for it. Thank you so much for your time and for your always interesting blog.
    Sincerely,
    A.B.

    ReplyDelete
  4. i'm not in love w/ the decor ....just the place :)
    Katie

    ReplyDelete