AmeriCorps paddling partners

I had so much fun last night at Indian Slough that I had to get out again, even though I have a million things I should be doing. And what I really wanted to do was share the fun with someone else. It didn't take any convincing to get Lauren and Katie (a couple of the AmeriCorps*NCCC "kids" who are working in Louisa County this spring) to join me.

Since it had to be a short trip (I really do have things that must get done), we headed over to Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge and put in off the port road. With the water high, it's a perfect spot to drop the kayak in for a quick out-and-back trip.

I told Lauren (left) and Kate (right) that I always see plenty of wildlife on this loop and they weren't disappointed: deer, turkeys, herons, ducks, geese, coots, owls and probably several I'm forgetting. But it was the beavers that got our attention again. We saw a couple swimming and their behavior was exactly like the one I'd seen at Indian Slough last night except that we were treated to a couple of good tail slaps - I think they were trying to tell us something.

But the highlight of the trip was probably the beaver lodge. We saw it on our way out and decided to pull in for a closer look on our way back - we were all amazed at the size of it!

Thanks for going with me, Lauren & Kate. My plan is to get the rest of the crew out paddling before they leave in a few weeks - we'll see if our early spring can hang on for a bit.

Odessa Water Trail

I've got a guest blogger today. Angie Sanders just moved to Louisa County from Illinois to be the director of Louisa Development Group. She's an outdoors person but new to paddling. I think we've got her hooked though. Read on ...

The Odessa Water Trail and Iowa State Extension Sesquicentennial project for Louisa County brought out over a dozen people to Odessa today. I joined one other kayak and a canoe on the North Water Trail which meanders through Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge. We set about to map out waypoints along the way, to take in the sights and have a good time.

Even with the recent rain, we were able to see the path fairly well. But I could tell that if another kayaker got in after the water level had risen, that signs would be a good idea. The North Water Trail definitely has some bends and curves, which adds to its mystique and beauty, before it juts out straight along the shore and south towards the rest of the Lake. But that’s what I liked about this Trail. It had variety.

The first section looks like some other put-ins I know, but as you start to wind down the waterway, it can look like a mini-rain forest. The hundreds of lotus flowers and lily pads add to the ancient feel. The jumping carp – that was fun! We saw several birds, of course, not the least of which was a Great Blue Heron. But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

After a few turns, which took hardly any effort due to the relaxing nature of the water and the day, the Trail led to a near straight away with a wide expanse. Before we knew it, the other kayaker asked me what the white bird was up ahead. Egret? No, a pelican! And it’s joining about 500 of its friends on the eastern shore. We were too far to get any sort of close up view, but we saw several groups, about 20 at a time, swoop in from the south. They had a magical angle to their flight – a sort of dance that came in waves, ending with their landing.

Our group was mesmerized and surprised we had already come to join the others at Schafer Access. It took about two hours when all was said and done – and that was at a generous pace.

One section of Odessa Water Trail down, four more to go.

Paddling with Pelicans

Finally, I got back on the water with the Red Kayak and headed to Odessa again. Things have changed a lot since May -- there is a lot less water and it's a whole lot warmer (air and water).

This time I put in at Shafer's access and struck out across the main lake to check out the Lateral Ditch. It's down to not much more than a trickle - about what I was expecting at this water level (I will try to find a link to explain the management of this area - suffice it to say that lowering the water level in summer is part of the plan).

So, I changed to plan B and paddled north into Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge. A large patch of white in the distance immediately got my attention. As I suspected, it turned out to be several hundred pelicans taking advantage of the low water to do some easy fishing.

Though they weren't crazy about the intrusion, the pelicans didn't want to move too badly either and stayed put long enough for some pretty good photos (actually, they stayed put rather well since I had to paddle all the way back to the access to get a card to put in my camera).

My next stop after I was done bothering the pelicans was at one of the many patches of American lotus. Though I've seen these plants many times, I'm always fascinated by them. There is a whole little world dwelling on the floating leaves. I even saw a red-winged blackbird walking across them.

Though I paddled about 5.5 miles, I was never more than a mile and a half from the access (the trip back for the camera card helped me get plenty of paddling in).

And I still managed to see: a yellow-crowned night heron, cormorants, turkey vultures, several broods of wood ducks, killdeer, great blue herons, egrets and bullfrogs. Most interesting wildlife encounter of the day: a little fish ended up in the seat of the kayak with me.

Odessa is low right now and I sucked a little mud with my paddle on occasion but that's exactly why a lot of these critters are out there. I plan to go out and see them again later this week. Stay tuned.

Port Louisa Loop

For the first time since I got the Red Kayak, I decided to invite some others to join me.

Naturally this was the time I got (just a little) lost, took two hours longer than planned to get back, had to navigate seven portages and ended up paddling into a strong headwind.

But it was fun! It was much more of an adventure than the quiet wildlife watching I have done so far.

We put in at Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge, just up the road from my first kayaking trip. But this time I had the bright idea of making a big loop instead of backtracking. Obviously, I've gotten much braver with my navigation skills though not necessarily better.

The six of us headed out in with three borrowed kayaks, a square stern canoe and, of course, the Red Kayak. A tip here for novice paddlers - square stern canoes are not made to paddle! They are used with either oars or a motor.

Several combinations of people tried the canoe with limited success so in the end I gave up the Red Kayak for the day and shared the canoe with a co-worker who just thought she was bad at paddling (she wasn't, it was the canoe).

Anyway, we wandered through the refuge and went up the main lake where we encountered the headwind. We crossed over on the "Lateral Ditch" then headed back up into the refuge, relieved to get out of the headwind and into the backwaters. We had our first portage at the Fox Pond structure. That was when I realized I should have done some scouting.

Taking out and putting in was a little challenging at all the portage sites. In fact the only guy in the group managed to land in the water as he tried to make that first exit. He wondered why we didn't give him a hard time about it. Speaking for myself, I figured there was a pretty good chance I'd end up in the same position before the day was over. As long as someone had to fall in though, we liked that it was the token male.

As we entered Fox Pond I felt like our trip had taken a turn for the better - we saw cormorants, pelicans, geese and coots plus the scenery is beautiful there. Granted, it was already past the time I'd expected to be taking out but I thought we'd be making good time at that point. Yeah, right.

The water was high and we realized too late that we had actually gotten out of Fox Pond and were paddling across a flooded field. Which didn't mean we were lost, it just meant taking out and putting in three extra times.

Three extra times up and down steep, rocky banks.

We crossed the road (where the Running Wild road race is held each August) and got into "Prairie Pocket" for the final stretch. Almost. It turns out there was a road that didn't show up on the map and so we still had three MORE portages.

After 4.5 hours paddling 9 miles we ended up in the parking lot right where we started. Which is really pretty cool. No shuttling needed and we didn't have to backtrack.

It was fun having friends along to share the adventure (and the adversity). Plus someone had thought to bake cupcakes to share with the group at the end of the trip. They were yummy and we had earned them.

The Maiden Voyage

I set out in the Red Kayak for my first adventure today in the late afternoon. I was excited to head out on my own but also a little nervous since I had forgotten to take a map. My strategy (which proved to work pretty well): stay to the right on the way out and the left on the way back.

I put in at Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge and made my way through Odessa Wildlife Management Area (aka "Lake Odessa") to Snively Campground.

As I rounded the first corner, two turkeys flew across the the narrow passage, carp were wallowing in the shallows and dozens of coots were scooting out of my way. When I paddled to shore to inspect the carp, a couple of deer bolted just a few yards away from me.

I could see that it was going to be a great trip.

In my 7 mile trip (3.5 each way) I saw: turkeys, deer, coots, carp, blue-winged teal, turkey vultures, wood ducks, painted turtles, egrets, great blue herons, canada geese, many unidentified birds and even a bald eagle catching a fish. I'm also fairly certain I heard a pileated woodpecker.

What I didn't see or hear were many people. There were a couple fishing on shore and I did see two boats. In two hours.

I am hooked. Lots of wild critters. Beautiful views. Peace. Quiet. The cell phone turned off (but still in my dry hatch - I'm not that confident yet).

I think the Red Kayak is going to see a lot of time on the water. Good thing we've got plenty of places still to explore.