A beautiful weekend here, with temperatures near C20 (mid 60sF), thus what could be better than both Saturday and Sunday paddling out on the lake. It all felt as though it was coming together nicely for the upcoming Everglades Challenge, though I'll start loading the boat up/down with weight for the rest of this month's paddling.I don't remember seeing so many normally coastal birds this time of the year, so far inland. There were definitely more shags (cormorants) than normal; and hundreds of what I took to be Forster's Tern, with its nearly all-white plumage and forked tail. In the absolute still of the lake, with not a breath of wind for mostly both days, their soft plummage littered the water.
I even bumped into SandyBottom on Sunday, out in the middle of the lake. In her Kruger, she has a very distinctive silhouette. With all the training she's being doing, she's lost a fair bit of weight and is looking quite hot! I'll never forget first meeting her on the beach at Lake Jordan a few years ago, and marvelling at this canoe/kayak thing she was paddling, training for then the Everglades Challenge and Ultimate Florida Challenge. Either will FliesWithKiwiBird...
We talked about the logistics of getting bodies, boats and gear down to Tampa Bay at the end of the month, and then picking up the van and trailer for SOS and DancesWithSandyBottom's yet-to-be-finished Core Sound 20. This year, FliesWithKiwiBird is going to fly down, with the wee one, pick up the van and trailer and take a couple of days to drive everything down to the finish line at Key Largo. It will be quite a family affair!
And I finally got the SPOT satellite tracker sussed. But more on that tomorrow.
7 comments:
OK, I've zoomed in and still can't quite read what the GPS says. Nor can I figure out why it needs a CamelBak. Is this a new secret weapon?
You're killing me with these weather reports.
Hey Kiwibird, the hundreds of birds that look like Forster's Terns (and they DO) are actually Bonaparte's Gulls -- quite ternlike, they are.
Funny thing: I can spell "Bonaparte's Gull" but not my own name! That's g-i-n-g-e-r!
Funny thing: I can spell "Bonaparte's Gull" but not my own name! That's g-i-n-g-e-r!
I think we already have an 'Everglades Champion' here! It's FliesWithKiwiBird! Good on you, I say for doing van duty!
And what's Ginger been sipping over there...? Doesn't seem like lemonade!
As a fellow paddle sport enthusiast, I wanted to tell you about our exciting new website, Paddle and Path (www.paddleandpath.com) which is quickly becoming THE ultimate source for information about exploring Florida's trails and waterways.
Conceived by a couple of University of South Florida (St. Petersburg) Florida Studies grad students, Paddle & Path features links to all things kayaking, canoeing, backpacking and outdoor; while at the same time sneaking in a little Florida history along the way.
Enjoy the site. We’re adding new stuff all the time.
Tell your paddle buddies about it.
Send us your story ideas or suggestions.
Paddle on,
Nevin Sitler, editor
nevin@paddleandpath.com
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