Wall Doxey State Park in Mississippi
Reflections in the Lake
Trees are reflected in the still water of Spring Lake at Wall Doxey State Park in Mississippi.
Recently, Laura and I were looking for a place to go for a day. Somewhere to get away for a little while and spend some time outdoors. Somewhere not too far from home.
We considered going back to one of the nearby places that we have enjoyed in the past. That would have been just fine. But we also like to try new things from time to time, too. A quick look at the map showed that Wall Doxey State Park is only about 50 minutes from us. Plus, it has a hiking trail around a lake. That was all we needed to know! We packed a picnic lunch and headed out to see what we could find.
As it turns out, we found exactly what we thought we would find, which was a state park with a lake. There are also several camping spaces, but we were not looking to camp. But there was a picnic area, so that was perfect for eating our lunch.
After lunch, we did hike the path around the lake. As you can see, there were some beautiful views along the way. The lake is fed by a natural spring, hence the name Spring Lake. Pretty catchy, huh? The weather was beautiful for an early fall day, and the scenery was beautiful, too.
While Wall Doxey State Park might not be the place for everyone, we very much enjoyed our visit there.
About the Park
Wall Doxey State Park is located on Highway 7 in Mississippi, between Holly Springs and Oxford, and it is about an hour from Memphis, too. The park was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. I always enjoy finding places that the Corps built. You might enjoy the book Rightful Heritage by Douglas Brinkley if you want to know more about the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The park was originally named Spring Lake State Park. So where did the current name come from? Wall Doxey was a U.S. Representative and later Senator from the State of Mississippi. The park was renamed in his honor after his terms. It is always a good idea not to make fun of a name, because that name might be the name of a person.
Wall Doxey State Park is not all that large, relatively, although it is adjacent to a very large national forest. The facilities that we saw could use a little work. And there were several trees down on the trail. Also, there is a $4 fee per car, just so you know.
However, as I mentioned above, it was just what we needed for the day, so it was good. The trail was around 2 miles long, and it took us a couple of hours to walk all the way around the lake. Except for a couple of places, it was not very steep. You could probably walk it much faster than we did, but we stopped here and there to enjoy the views and get some photos. We were not there to set any speed records.
It was a delightful day!
Bible Verse
The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. - Psalm 145:8-9
About the Photos
It was a beautiful day for photos, as you can see. The first photo was taken with my camera as usual. Just a nice view across the lake from the bridge that we were on. It was processed in Aurora HDR, but I didn’t do anything too over the top because it was already such a nice view. It might have been better with a few more fall colors, but there isn’t much that I can do about that.
For the second photo, I had already put my camera in the car before I realized that we did not have any photos of us together. I had taken several of Laura, and she had taken a few of me, but nothing together. So instead of getting my camera back out, I just used my iPhone XR.
Although it is easier to take an iPhone self-portrait photo with the front camera, because you can see the screen, I like using the rear camera and Portrait Mode. Portrait Mode is not always quite perfect, but it usually does a good job of simulating the depth of field look that a traditional camera gives with a wide-open aperture. This photo turned out quite good, and with just a quick glance you might not be able to tell if it is really camera bokeh or not. It was just right for what I wanted here.
Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Aurora HDR. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
_Lens: _ Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens
Date: October 12, 2019
Location: Wall Doxey State Park, Mississippi
