Moon Confusion

Out with the full moon tonight. Last night was also a moon paddle - I guess that’s what happens with an early moon and an early sunset. And a full moon. I am seriously laughing to myself at something so ridiculous. Ahhh… the Conestoga!

Usually when I’m out with the moon, I just veg out on the moon; the light, the shadows, the silhouette of the trees - that sort of thing. Tonight, in addition to taking in all of the moon stuff, I tried to think about the location of the moon from the house and justify the two locations with each other. 

Given that I had only traveled our horseshoe, this wasn’t a difficult prospect. But then I extended the exercise. 

I was at that moment near the quarry and from the river there is a pretty good view of the sunset. The best spot for the sunset around here, however, is in County Park just past the Duke Street bridge where the river takes a turn to the East. If you time everything right, spectacular! 

As I drifted, marveling at the whites of the sycamores all sparkled up by the moon, I tried to figure out how this sunset spot and the County Park spot fit together in space. How does that bend at County Park exist given where I thought I was at that moment.  I can basically take myself down an imaginary paddle, but I couldn’t relate the two locations simultaneously. I was confused.

How about you?

Yeah, it's cool

Sometimes when you see something really cool, you’re like, “Was that really super cool or am I just silly for thinking that was cool?”

I was at the Grand Teton Climbers’ Ranch a long time ago and at some point one evening took a break from the hang out to take a walk outside. There was a gang of about 10 elk right in the middle of the ranch. They were huge! Amazingly huge! 

I went in and announced: Woah, everyone, there are some elk outside and they are really flipping cool. Folks were like, oh, yeah, nice. Elk.

I was like: What? Y’all aren’t even gonna check it out? 

Nah. 

Back to the river. I was paddling sime ago and this duck skims out from the bank and wingflap-paddles out in front of me. There was no way I was going to catch it, but it continued like this for some time with me following along. After a bit it looked around, swam to the other side of the river, alighted from the water and did a 180 and flew back to the basic vicinity of its original spot. 

I’d heard about some ducks doing this to lead predators away from a nest, but never experienced it. 

Objectively cool?

Damn straight. So were the elk. 

So much coolness

A Swim and a Thought

If you follow the Instagram page, you know Jeff, my paddling partner. He’s (nearly) always up for a float and as we meander down the river, he loves to hang out on the bow and check things out. He especially likes the occasional deer sighting and there are times when he has spotted them before I have. 

Jeff is an adventure dog. He tends to chew on his PDF if he’s bored and especially enjoys a bit of action. Speed fits the bill - usually provided by steady paddling or the set of rapids near the end of our usual route. 

Though he sometimes tries to ride the rapids from his perch up front, he usually retreats to my lap or I scoop him up and bring him back with me. He’s pretty secure in the cockpit or between my legs if I kneel on a paddleboard.

A recent float provided an exception to this. 

While watching Leigh negotiate the rapids, I smacked a stranded log and he flew off the paddleboard. I sprung off the board, lunged for his tail and reeled him in. The river was too fast to stand so I held him aloft while I rode the rapids in a “seated” position. 

This non-standard trip over the rapids left me a bit bruised and Jeff a bit shaky, but our unplanned experience is one of many reasons why I find time on the river so captivating. 

We never know what we are going to find and we certainly don’t know what is going to happen. We may see an eagle soaring up the corridor; maybe an osprey will shrill at us before going alight with its most recent catch; maybe the mayflies will be on parade; maybe a deer (or a cat) will spy us from the banks; maybe the swallows will be catching food and feeding it to their young as they watch the enterprise from a powerline. Maybe we will go for a “swim.”

There’s always something awesome happening out there. Sometimes that awesome isn’t what one would choose (portage over ice, a cold driving rain, a swim), but the river provides a bit of an edge whose precipice is not too high to deal with. Jeff and I aren’t “send it” sort of folks but we try to take it all in and understand we are provided with a special opportunity to see beauty, watch the changes on the river throughout the year and participate in something primary and unfiltered. 

As I finish this piece up I am taking mini-breaks to prepare for a quick float. Jeff knows we are about to go out and is patiently waiting so he can get out there and see what is out there today.

Shortly before launch.