Chinkapin Hike

So, what did I do on what could be the last nice day of fall? Wrong, I didn't get out on the water though I should have because I am a wimp. Combining cold, wind and water just doesn't appeal to me. Maybe I'm just not that into it yet. Maybe in the spring I'll be more willing to brave the cold after months away from my little red kayak. Maybe.

Anyway, today a friend and I hiked at Chinkapin Bluffs Recreation Area just outside Columbus Junction. It's a beautiful park with a shelter, playground, overlook deck and at least five miles of trail.

We started on the crushed limestone trail in the picnic area. It leads to the deck overlooking the Iowa River floodplain. With many of the leaves gone, we could see the river as well as water in the Chinkapin wetland. This park is worth a visit just for the view from the overlook.

Then we headed out past the demonstration prairie and pawpaw research plot to one of several trails that wind through the timber. Once you get into the timber, watch out - these trails are steep! While they aren't for everyone, they're a great way to put some extra work into the old workout.

The steep part gets you to the base of the bluff pretty quickly (thus the steepness) and then you are on a wide, flat trail -the old railroad bed. This 3.5-mile trail is part of the Hoover Nature Trail which has several completed section from West Branch to Morning Sun. It's got a crushed limestone surface with a lot of grass growing on it. Nice for biking, walking or running. There is even a parking lot at the end so you don't have to walk up or down the steeper trails.

My friend, who lives less than 10 miles from the park had never been there. She really liked it and kept saying "this is really nice." Now that I think about it though, that was before we had to go up the steep part.

One of my favorite things about this trail is that it runs next to the Chinkapin wetlands. So that even though I wasn't on the water, I was near it.

Change of Seasons

Today was my last chance this year to try out the one Odessa Water Trail route I hadn’t been on yet – Goose Trail. This one isn’t accessible during low water and most of it will close for the duck season starting October 20.

Though it was hot, there was definitely a sense of autumn in the air. There was a pretty strong breeze and it was the first day I’ve really seen lots of leaves falling.

As I paddled through “Lateral Ditch” the first thing I noticed was how the lotuses have changed since my first paddle on Odessa this year. The leaves are all but gone and the beautiful, exotic flowers have transformed into odd-shaped pods (yes if you’re wondering these are the same ones used in flower arrangements).

Goose Trail is a neat route – at this time of year its a series of narrow channels connecting open ponds and then into water filled with wild millet. The millet has been growing all summer on mud flats left by the lower water. It’s flooded now and though it was green just a few weeks ago, it’s now standing ripe and ready for the fall migrants.

Rails are already in there foraging for insects. Throughout the fall ducks will use the plants for cover while they eat the seed. A variety of song birds will also feast on the seeds to store up energy for the long trip south. Even hatchling fish use the millet – it’s full of the invertebrates they munch during this stage of their lives.

Just as the plants are changing, the list of critters I saw today is different, too. I saw only a couple of herons and no egrets or pelicans (though they are still around using different areas now). There were ducks, geese and cormorants, blackbirds, a few hawks, a bald eagle and a kingfisher.

The best wildlife encounter of the day was with a barred owl. As I was putting my camera back inside my lifejacket, I drifted toward shore and an owl that was sitting in the open on a fallen log. It watched me float closer but didn’t move, letting me get within about 10 feet. You’ll have to take my word though because I couldn’t the camera without spooking it. We just sat and stared at each other until he/she got tired of looking at me and flew off.

Odessa Water Trail Dedication

I usually have Odessa and the Odessa Water Trail pretty much to myself when I'm paddling. That wasn't the case today and I have a feeling there will be plenty of other times where I will have to share this beautiful place.

The trail was given it's official status as Iowa's third designated water trail. Somewhere between 50 and 60 paddlers took part in the inaugral paddle on a morning that definitely had the crisp feel of fall in the air.

The critters were cooperative and showed off for the the visitors - ducks, egrets, herons, cormorants, eagles, swallows, turtles and hawks all made appearances.

Swallows & Sunset at Snively

I’m writing today’s blog from Snively Access campground. No, I’m not actually posting from here – no wireless, but that would be a great idea. But, the photo is taken as I’m sitting here (the blob on the lower right is the edge of my tent).

You can even see a few of the swallows along with the heron fishing along the shore. There are hundreds of them zooming up and down the shoreline hunting bugs. They’re flying so close I may end up with a blob of white on my computer or shirt.

Anyway, I don’t usually camp so close to home because I consider camping a “vacation thing.” And vacations are something you do away from home - anyway, that's what I've always thought.

Over the last twenty years I’ve camped with my kids and husband in beautiful, often remote, campgrounds from Tennessee to Oregon and most of the states in between. We often reminisce about our favorite sites.

I’ll be adding this one to the list. I set up my tent about an hour ago with the idea that I would head straight to the office and get some work done (yeah, on a Saturday). I decided to sit down for a while and watch a heron fishing along shore. Then I got fascinated with the swallows. I finally gave up and got out the chair and laptop to work here for a while.

I highly recommend it, with or without the laptop. I’ll be back later today without it.

So, I did go back and had a nice but short paddle on Odessa as the sun was starting to set. The water was smooth. It was quiet except for the heron's croaking and there were no other obats out.

That'll change tomorrow morning.

Way Up North

I took the Red Kayak outside Louisa County for the first time this week. After a lovely drive along the Great River Road, we ended up near LaCrosse, Wisconsin on Lake Onalaska. Along the way we saw the devastation from the heavy rains that brought all the water down stream to us.

Lake Onalaska is actually part of the Mississippi River. If I'd had enough time, I could have paddled across to the main channel which was on the Minnesota side. But, as usual, I found so much to do that I spent more time exploring and taking pictures than paddling.

The river is really different up there because there is no levee - very wide and spread out. The backwaters are incredible, ranging from open, shallow marshes to braided streams snaking through the floodplain forests. The river up there is all part of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

The water up there is full of vegetation. Submergent plants like wild celery, coontail, sago pond weed grew under the water everywhere. It was pretty neat looking and , more importantly, provides food for lots of critters.

A couple days later I paddled on the west side of the river near MacGregor. Again it was beautiful and I really enjoyed seeing a new area but I realized something: I'm spoiled.

Every time I paddle in Louisa County, I see wildlife galore. At Onalaska there were a lot of pelicans, a few grebes and some geese overhead. At McGregor I saw a few herons. When I paddle on Odessa, I've seen that many birds from the boat ramp.

It was nice to see new areas and to get a new appreciation for what we have here at home.

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.

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.