It Started Out Sunny
It looks like I'll have to get my camera repaired or get a new one! The difference in quality is clear. The initial focusing lens on my camera makes things slightly fuzzy and foggy. At any rate, Ezra, our youngest son, and I decided to go kayaking Sunday. It began bright and sunny and not much wind. We decided to put in by the bridge on county highway F near Leeman where the River's Edge bar is located. Our route would be a windy and twisty 10 miles and we got out at the Koepke County Park landing. I've done this route before and it is a very pretty and an easy paddle. You have to watch for shallow spots, logs, stumps, and lots of trees that have fallen into the river over the past year and more.
We took our time, and because it was Labor Day weekend, we saw lots of families out in their boats or fishing from the shore. We waved to a family camping along side the river and asked if they had luck fishing since two of the kids were casting out into the river. The smallest boy, probably about 8, was very enthusiastic and ran to a cooler to haul out a great big catfish. Apparently their uncle caught the fish, but here was this little guy hugging a huge slippery catfish to his chest and almost tipping backwards.
Around one bend we saw three boats hugging the shore. It was one entire family with all their kids including the babies. Everyone was fishing except the moms with wee babes in arms. They were catching walleye just like the other fishermen (with sons and daughters) we saw along the way.
About two-thirds of the way the sky became cloudier and Ezra saw it coming before I did and had me open one of the hatches on his kayak to get his jacket and spray skirt. I've gotta get a spray skirt! It would keep me drier especially as the weather gets cooler. I can see the wisdom of a wet suit! But my rashguard shirt was plenty warm and water resistant. Even if I did get wet it dried quickly.
People often comment, when they hear about kayaking, that it only works the upper body. No sirree! The whole system gets a good workout. If you paddle correctly, you work your core very well and, if you have a rudder as our kayaks have, your legs get a workout, too, since you operate the rudder with your feet.
We always see a lot of wildlife whenever we kayak. Kayaking is fairly quiet and you can glide up pretty close to turtles, as Ezra did, before they slide back into the water. There were also eagles, hawks, great blue heron, plovers, kingfishers all along the way. We saw plenty of crane flying and a "river of birds." They flew together dipping, contracting and stretching in flight, almost mimicking the river.
Pat Kayaking (photo by Ezra)
Ezra paddling (photo by Pat) You can see the Rebel Alliance logo on his kayak.
Ezra paddling and here you can kind of see his Tombo (in Japanese) characters which means "Dragonfly."
Pat Kayaking just after the rain, it was beginning to clear a bit
Trees grow into the river
Interesting tree roots all along the Wolf River
A Lot of Snags on the Wolf, too.
More Roots Along the Wolf River
