August 29, 2010 Fish Creek

We chose Fish Creek so we could rent a kayak for Megan at the Kayak Shack. We wanted a shorter paddle after our long day out yesterday. As we headed out, Megan commented that her boat had a mind of it's own. She wobbled along as we headed towards Bryant's Bridge. Not a great kayak; too wide for her.

Kayak Shack

Megan heads out

We watched for turtles and fish as we went. Megan was pretty good at turtle spotting and enjoyed snapping pictures before they dove into the water.

Megan spots a turtle basking on a log

We had a number of boats to contend with. Most were respectful and didn't leave a large wake.


We looked for the HUGE snapping turtle Tim had seen early in the spring, but no luck. Tim said when he found it in the spring he thought that it was some dirt on the shore... and then he saw the huge head!
As much as we wanted to see the snapping turtle, we never found it.


We had a nice paddle with Megan. She goes with us when our schedules allow it. Next year she might have her own boat!

Tim & Megan

Tim & Nance

Saturday August 28, 2010 Hudson River Park

For a few years when Tim & I drive north on I 87 we have noticed a boat launch near Exit 18. We decided to take our kayaks and find out how to get there: take Exit 18 and turn right onto Big Boom Rd. Follow it to the end and you will arrive at Hudson River Park. The park opened in 2003.

Sign at the Hudson River park

We launched our boats at the ramp and headed for the Northway. The water was nice and calm. We went under the Northway and noticed a camp for sale on the other side. Tim was interested, but I told him it was too noisy to even consider!

Looking towards the Northway

A little farther down the Hudson River the hill on the shore got much steeper. The houses were on the top of the hill and there were LOTS of steps leading down to the river. Two houses had lifts to get up and down from the water. Sweet. (I would take one of those houses!)

Chair lift

We saw lots of things on this trip. We looked right towards West Mountain at one point.

We found a beaver dam with a beaver lodge in the higher water behind it. The water was about 12" higher behind the dam. The dam had some loosetrife growing on it right next to the spot where the water was coming over.

Water flowing over the dam to the right of the flowers

Nance in front of dam & lodge

In one area we found nesting boxes that must have been put there by a conservation group. There was a bridge in that area where the area has been posted.

Bridge

We passed a water treatment plant and continued paddling as far as we could go. We came to some rocks and rapids. We aren't quite sure what was on the other side. We thought we would be able to paddle up to a dam, but no luck.


On the way back we followed a heron for a while. We were able to paadle up and get a picture before it flew off.

It was a really nice day to be out in our boats. I think we paddld 3.5 hours!

Nance framed by some trees

Seal Cove Pond Friday August 20, 2010

Seal Cove Pond was our least favorite paddle of the four paddles we did at Acadia. Seal Cove Pond is in a very remote area. You have to drive down a long dirt road to get there. It is 4.5 miles around and takes about 2.5 hours to paddle. It is shallow & marshy. The eastern shore is part of Acadia National Park. The western shore & the island are privately owned. There is a beaver lodge at the southern end.

Doug launches his kayak

Looking North from the launch

Looking south

The guys paddle along

The beaver lodge

Eagle Lake Thursday August 19, 2010

Eagle Lake is the lake you look down on from Cadillac Mountain. You have a beautiful view of it from the Blue Hill overlook. This lake is 4 miles around and is 110 feet deep. It is the largest lake on Mount Desert Island. It is a moderate kayak paddle. There are hiking paths and carriage roads around the perimeter. It is about a 3 hour paddle.

Tim paddles from the launch

The launch was breathtaking. The water was calm and the mountains reflected on the surface. We headed off to our right and started paddling along the shore. There were lots of people walking on the paths around the lake. We were able to paddle and take a lot of pictures.

Along the shore

We saw a stone arch. It looked like it may have been the remains of  building. It seemed out of place to be a bridge. If you look at the picture you'll see the ground through the arch opening. We didn't walk the trail, so I can only guess. Perhaps on our next trip back, we can check it out.







The morning was nice as we were the only boats on the lake for most of our trip. I hate it when strangers clutter my pictures!

We saw a bird perched as we approached the launch area. We paddled close to get some photos of the heron (?) and were promptly told to leave the restricted area. There were white markers warning boaters to keep out - but there weren't any along the shore where we paddled in. Oh well. Better markers would have been obeyed.

Heron?

Tim and I returned to the same parking lot where we had launched so we could take a bike ride on the carriage road. The water was MUCH rougher. A few hours make a huge difference. I'll tuck in a few bike pictures as well. We enjoyed our ride and had some great views.

Late afternoon waves at Eagle Lake

Nance on Carriage Road to Witches Pond

Carriage Road Bridge

Witches Pond

Jordan Pond - August 18, 2010

We got up a little earlier on Wednesday to Paddle the Jordan Pond. Parking lots fill up fast, so we thought we could get a spot early and leave the vehicles there while we went to the Jordan Pond House for lunch after our paddle. It was nice that Megan was able to join us. The water was pretty calm and the temperature was great.

Jordan Pond House

Jordan Pond is an easy paddle on one of the most scenic ponds in Maine. It is a 2.5 mile paddle and the pond is 150 feet deep. It takes about 2 hours to paddle. The scenery all along the pond is gorgeous; from the view of the Jordan Pond House restaurant to the mountains known as the Bubbles.

The Bubbles

There is a walking path around the pond that has several foot bridges. We lined up our kayaks under one of them and had Sharon take our picture. She was a little nervous that my camera was not a water proof camera. We don't get the chance to have all 3 of us in the same photo, so it was a nice treat.









We spotted two loons on the pond. Before too long there were four! Apparently is is unusual to see four loons together. Loons are a lot of fun to watch. They dive under water and come up a long way from where they went under. I annoyed Megan by quoting On Golden Pond several times. "The loons, Norman, the loons!"

Four Loons on "Jordan Pond"

We had a great paddle! While every one packed things up, I went up to Jordan Pond House Restaurant and stood in line to assure we could get a table for lunch. We were seated out on the lawn at a table under a tree. The view was spectacular! We looked out at the mountains known as the Bubbles.

The Bubbles

For lunch, Tim, Megan & I each ordered the lobster stew. It was served with 2 hot popovers. They are served one at a time to guarantee that they are hot when you eat them! They come with butter and strawberry jam. They were delish! We also ordered lemonade. It is served unsweetened with a sugar syrup on the side. It was a great lunch.

Gary, Sharon, Doug & Cindy
Megan, Tim & Nancy

Popover, Lobster Stew & Lemonade

That afternoon Tim & I went to the harbor and picked up lobsters for all of us. We had a nice lobster dinner. Cindy surprised me by baking a birthday cake for me in her camper oven. It was a very nice day!

Lobster dinner!

Birthday cake!

Tim

Megan

Acadia National Park

View of the lake from our launch site

Tim & I spent a week at Acadia National Park with our kayaking friends: Doug, Cindy & their daughter Chelsea; and Gary and Sharon. We camped at Bass Harbor Campground (Tim, Megan & I "camped" in a cabin). The first kayaking trip we took was at Long Pond. It's a 3 mile paddle round trip. There was a light mist when we launched our boats. I didn't take many pictures on this trip so that I wouldn't ruin my camera. The rain varied from a light mist to a pretty hard rain. Wind and waves varied as well.

Cindy pointed out a huge nest up in a tree to me. I wish I could have gotten a picture of it. It was the biggest nest I have ever seen!

When we got to the far end of the lake we were in a shallow area. Chelsea fell out of her kayak. She was able to get herself right back in (kids can do that... me, no way!) Once she was in her boat, Tim helped her bail out the water she took on.

Tim & Chelsea bail out her kayak

Another great day of kayaking

Today we headed to Round Lake. We hadn't been there yet this year. We wanted to get there in May to listen to the Carp spawning, but my knee surgery didn't allow us to go. If you haven't heard Carp spawning, it's quite interesting. The first time we heard it we were at Round Lake. We kept hearing  loud thrashing in the weeds, but never saw anything. It was kind of creepy.

Last year Tim was traveling for work, so he didn't get to kayak very much. My son Jason went with me to Round Lake when he was home for Megan's 21st birthday. I showed him the Heron nests and the beaver lodges. We had a good time as we paddled around.

Beaver lodge last year

Today when we were at the lake we took our usual trip down the outlet at the eastern end of the Lake(Anthony Kill) It is in here where we usually see many beaver lodges and Heron (Cormorant) Nests. I was quite surprised today. We were unable to see many of the beaver lodges that are farther back in the wet areas. The cattails and grasses were quite tall. The one beaver lodge that is right along the outlet was quite overgrown with weeds & flowers. I told Tim that the beavers were using Feng Shui! The lodges looked like they had possibly been abandoned. I've never seen one with this kind of growth on it. This lead us to wonder if beavers had been trapped and re-located. Farther down the outlet we were able to kayak over a beaver dam that totally crossed the outlet last year. This time it was under water and we didn't have to ram our boats over it. We paddled as far as we could go, ending at a beaver dam that has about a 12" drop to the other side. With wetlands on each side of the dam, there is no way around it.

We headed out and paddled to Little Round Lake at the other end before heading for home.

"Feng shui" lodge this year

Flowers & cattails

Beaver Dam blocking the way

Tim paddles through

Basking turtle

Nance paddles along the flowers & grasses