Earth Day Paddle

It's been a long time since I was out on the water but my first paddle was a good one. Along with a couple of dozen other paddlers, I joined Elizabeth (blue kayak) from the Louisa County Conservation Board for the "Earth Day Paddle" at Indian Slough Wildlife Area.

It seemed at first that the evening was not going to go well. Up until noon, it looked like we might have thunderstorms. The first person to arrive got their car stuck in the mud. Parking and turning around were challenging because of high water. A brand new kayak arrived with a giant hole (tip: don't let your kayak rub against the tire of your trailer!).

But, the weather was perfect. The last person to arrive had a tow strap to pull the car out. Everyone was friendly and helpful. And, while the kayak still has a hole, we had enough boats for everyone to go out (hey, you've gotta look on the bright side, right?).

With the water so high on the Iowa River (even higher than my trip last summer), we were able to go anywhere we wanted. In fact, we ended up paddling down a road for awhile. It also allowed us to get right next to the eagle's nest. Unfortunately, it looks like the eagles have moved elsewhere this year.

Since I was way, way at the back of the pack, I didn't see much wildlife but I heard others say they saw: swallows, geese, great blue herons, a beaver, and lots of carp. The frogs were singing and the trees had that first flush of green.

My favorite part of this trip wasn't the wildlife anyway - it was the people. There were folks I knew but had never paddled with, as well as seasoned paddlers whom I'd never met. We had a family who lives near Indian Slough and a young lady from Poland (no, she didn't travel here JUST for the paddle). The age span covered 8 years old to well over 60.

Best of all, my husband and daughter were along. Really, I should say I was along since I can't actually paddle these days and the daughter offered to take me out in a tandem kayak. About 2 minutes into the trip, she regretted the offer but I think she had fun anyway.

Maybe not enough fun that she'll take me out on the Mother's Day paddle. But she should, right? After all, giving birth to her was a LOT harder than paddling me around for a couple of hours.

Emily got the Red Kayak out on the water

High Water Adventure

It's not very often we get high water on the rivers in August, especially at these levels. I took advantage of the rare opportunity and headed out to Indian Slough Wildlife Area.

Though I have to say that I was afraid it would be kind of a let down because after a summer of paddling and watching wildlife on Odessa, I've got pretty high expectations.

It was absolutely awesome!

I parked on the road (parking lot was under water) and slid the kayak into the water on the west side of the road. Actually, ON the west side of the road. Then I headed out from there.

First I paddled up under an eagle nest and got a good look at that. Then I watched a kingfisher fish, dragonflies mate, eagles soar, carp suck, turtles bask, herons wade, swallows swoop, ... well, you get the idea.

I also paddled under trees and over grass and next to the tops of buttonbush. I can't even say exactly where I went because I just wandered from one little pocket of water to the next. At one point I thought maybe I was going to end up in the Iowa River (I didn't and I don't think I was ever really very close).

After several hours of paddling I ended up right where I started - completely by accident. It was fun wandering around without a map - a bit of an adventure not knowing exactly where I was and how I would get back. My two guideposts: the sun and the eagle nest.

This trip will be worth repeating in the high waters of spring. And always in the high waters of late summer.