Maiden Voyage

The fella above is named Steve. There is a little background regarding Steve here: Merry Green Marvel.

This was his first 'tour' or as he called it The Maiden Tour. Last week I was supposed to do this, but communications got fouled up and because of that he invited myself and my friend for a 'no' charge tour as an apology.

Steve gave us a demonstration on how to get in and out of the sit on Kayaks, how to steer, back paddle, make figure eights, and deal with the wakes from speed boots if we encountered them.

He explained Strainers and how not to be a Noodle.

[For the heck of it a few days ago I looked up the Kayak Lingo and terms...]

Strainers are low hanging branches and a kayaker can get hung up like a noodle trying to go through them on a river current.

Dragging over logs or getting Boned is another expression -- he didn't use that though. It wouldn't have been appropriate with all female Kayakers.

We took off and headed first into the what he called the Lotus Garden.

If you have never sat near these flowers and smelled their exotic and beautiful scent...you have not lived!

I paddled along with Steve's son for part of the journey and we talked about different kinds of kayaking. He lives in Alaska and has kayaked on the ocean. Wow. The difference in lakes, rivers, and oceans are pretty big and I enjoyed hearing about them.

We paddled for around 3 hours with a break on a 'beach' along the main channel. After that, we headed down river to find another entry point into the backwaters. Or as Steve called it, the Braided Sloughs of the Mississippi which was an excellent description.

The crazies were out on the main channel with their speed boats racing up and down the river. Personally, I've never seen the fun of that.

Quiet and slow have always been my motto. Silent sports and I get along the best, although I hold nothing against those who like those sports.

How was it?

Well.

Awesome.

Will I do it again?

Steve's shot of me exploring the

Lotus Garden

Oh yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Next time? Maybe an evening paddle? 

It was a well run 'tour' which felt more like a friend taking us to see some amazing sights.

The photos were taken with my little waterproof point and shoot camera. So I didn't get great shots of the eagles or the juvie eagle...or the eagle nest and turtles.

Time Out

I needed a Time Out. 

I didn't think the ponds would be thawed out at Kickapoo Valley Reserve, but Charlie and I went anyway. I forgot my YakTraks so I decided not to check out my favorite ice 'fall'. 

I like winter. I can walk across a frozen boggy area and not get wet. I did a lot of wandering off trail following wildlife trails. Little short Charlie had to negotiate the long grasses but he seemed to enjoy all the scents he found near the tiny stream we followed.

I was hoping to hear birds, you know, like Sandhill Cranes or Geese. But once I saw that the ponds were still iced, I knew I wouldn't find any.

But I did see an eagle. I didn't bother pulling the camera out at first, because eagles always fly off by the time I'd get the camera out of my pack.

However, the eagle kept circling overhead. Shooting straight up and trying to follow the eagle was really hard. 
Shooting straight up also makes me feel like I'm going to tip backwards.

It isn't the best shot and it is cropped a---lot. I was pretty pleased anyway.

We walked to the birding blind and looked at the frozen pond. Then we took off down another wildlife trail and explored the marshy area west of the ponds.

We found the river and a few places where raccoon had left trails in the bank.

Charlie was in heaven, so many smells!

The Ice Shoves from last week's heavy rains and warm temperatures were amazing. These shoves were piled high on the bank. The sun's warmth had given them Teeth! We found some shoves about 30 feet inland in the marsh too.

We headed back to the Visitor's Center. Charlie likes to lead the way. I suppose he thinks I don't know how to follow a trail?

The river was flowing but the ponds were still encased in ice. We didn't see another human and we didn't see any migratory birds, but we still had a great Time Out.

With next week's warm up the ponds should open up.

As I was toweling my muddy/iced up dog off in the parking lot, we heard geese and a Sandhill Crane calling overhead. At least I think it was a Crane.