Saturday, July 3, 2021

Bonus blog: The Wagon Train Lake adventure


Some of you will remember Dexter, my little 2012 Honda Fit.  He's been my rolling toy box ever since I drove him off the dealer's lot, as a "reward" for finishing my second half marathon.  

Dexter was one of the stars of my kayak outing today.  He's small, but he's plucky.  I mentioned in the day 6 blog that there is road construction between home and the lake.  Today's paddle was on that same lake.  Day 6: A hike in a state park

Dexter has driven me to oh, so many events.  He has bumped across fields next to lakes, parked on soggy, even snowy spots, smaller than the SUV's he was mostly parked beside.  He's carried Brenda to Wisconsin for her Olympic distance triathlon.  He's carried Sophia to several such events.  He even carried Uma the mountain bike up to Wisconsin on a spectator whim of mine.

I think I have the "best" route to the lake worked out... only about 3 miles of country gravel roads, and a good view of the progress of the "South bypass" construction.  About a 20 minute ride mostly South of me.

We arrived a trifle early for the 10 a.m. scheduled paddle.  Chatted a bit with a mom and her two kids in the parking area while applying sunscreen and bug spray.  The dad of the proprietor was on duty loading folks up at this lake.  Kyle was up at another lake, having supported the sunrise paddle.


Got into my "ride" for the day, and floated out into the lake.  I quickly observed the direction of the current, recognized that it would be left arm heavy on the way out and right arm heavy on the way back.

This is one of the lakes where I once practiced open water swimming for triathlon, but of course with the kayak launch being on a different side of the lake.  I paddled past the swimming beach and out into the center of the water, enjoying the ripples of wakes of a handful of boats out for fishing.



It was lovely, with a bit of a breeze, which also brought the occasional minor "wave", but nothing strenuous.  

At one point, as I neared the shore on the other side, a yellow swallowtail butterfly flitted across my bow and on toward the cottonwoods on shore.  It was flying far faster than I was paddling.

Not my photo, downloaded from free site.









I went out about a mile, according to my Garmin (which is still not uploading, by the way) in 26 minutes, turned about and explored more on the far side of the lake before finding the mom and her two children (boy and girl) again.  They were still on the first side of the lake, and I think the kids had kind of poohed out by then.

This is about where the butterfly appeared, but I was pretty much done taking photos by then, ready to just paddle and enjoy.


Proof from the Garmin of the lake route, that won't upload!  It does track time and distance though, so even though it's not connecting and uploading, it is still doing SOME service!

I was back on shore after only about an hour session. They were selling in two hour segments, but my body didn't want any more than that hour. Didn't matter... worth it.

I stopped at the swim beach to have my packed snack before heading home again, over the gravel roads.  Good little Dexter got me home in one piece and totally at peace, too... to a nice shower and a quiet afternoon.

Here's hoping your Holiday weekend is going as well as mine!

15 comments:

  1. Sounds like a wonderful day !!! I spent the day working on BFF GS's quilt top.

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    1. Your day sounds lovely, too. I am starting out my 4th with the 1812 Overture playing on YouTube... and pondering how it got to be a 4th of July favorite, being a Russian composer and depicting a battle in Moscow from the era of our French and Indian War... hmmmm!

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  2. Sounds like a lovely "just enough" paddle exploring the "new" lake via a new route courtesy of Trusty Dexter!!

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    1. Yep. One of the benefits of being a "senior athlete" is that we listen to our bodies when they tell us we've had what we need.
      And well done, good and faithful Dexter!

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  3. What a lovely day! You paddle the same speed as me. According to the "runkeeper" app on my phone I cover one mile in 20-21 minutes WITH the wind and 28-30 minutes AGAINST the wind. Now there's another song in my head - "Cast your Fate to the Wind" Not this weekend though. Our lake is WAY too busy on a holiday weekend

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    1. Had to smile about your lake being too busy on the Holiday weekend... that's exactly why I chose this particular lake yesterday. I figured it would be less busy than the ones in town where the big fireworks are hosted! I was right, it turned out and it was wonderful and peaceful.

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  4. Sounds like a lovely day. Kayaking is so relaxing, yet an arm workout at the same time!

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    1. True... kayaking is a nice balance to a walking or running program!

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  5. What a beautiful butterfly! Looks like a lovely place to canoe. Thanks for sharing!

    Hugs

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    1. Thanks. I do love the Swallowtails. They look somewhat like a Monarch, only yellow instead of orange.

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  6. Such a lovely peaceful paddle -- it's wonderful you're really getting into the kayaking. Would Dexter accommodate kayak racks on his roof if you decided . . . ????

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    1. To be honest, I am enjoying the convenience of renting and borrowing... my concern about Dexter and a kayak is that I'm SHORT! My son pointed out the time I went out with him that his value add to the kayaking is that he is tall and has good upper body strength, so getting the boats ONTO and OFF of the racks is his job. His GF's mom is best at tying them down (good old Girl Scout knots) so they don't slip in the highway cross winds.

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  7. Missed this until just now... Beautiful! And lots of exercise!!

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