Sunday, September 20, 2009

2009.36.167 - The Gorge

The last weekend of summer. And a glorious weekend it was. Warm temperatures, clear skies, calm winds. All weekends should be like this.
The only downside is that with the death of the van last week, we temporarily have no wheels to take our kayaks anywhere. But perhaps I should amend that. We have no motorized wheels to take our kayaks anywhere; we do have our kayak wheel carts to push our kayaks down the hill to launch on the Gorge. Paula and her inflatable joined Louise and I in our Deltas for a paddle under bright sunny skies.
2009-09-20 The Gorge 007 copy

We saw this cormorant high up in this tree, usually at the height where the eagles sit. Speaking of eagles, we've hardly seen any around the last few weeks. We think they're probably congregating near salmon streams for some easy pickings as the salmon are now running upriver to spawn.
2009-09-20 The Gorge 025 copy

These ducks found a nice spot to sit and laze away the day.
2009-09-20 The Gorge 004

As we moved into Portage Inlet, we saw the swans floating towards us....
2009-09-20 The Gorge 049 copy
...but they weren't coming to us, but to a family that had called them over to give them a little breakfast. These just might be the best-fed swans on the planet.
2009-09-20 The Gorge 061

The cat looked on jealously.
Then the cat soon became interested in me: a huge half-person, half-fish. I bet he thought that he could feed on me for a year.
2009-09-20 The Gorge 063

We wandered up Colquitz Creek to Admirals Road where this new bridge is being built. It was supposed to have opened two weeks ago, but it's still closed. It looks finished. Skateboarders are enjoying the new pavement on it.
2009-09-20 The Gorge 016

On the way back, this heron posed for a few quick snaps.
2009-09-20 The Gorge 076 copy

As we neared the end of our paddle we spotted Brian and Marie on their recumbent tandem, and Brian hopes to join us for a paddle next week.
2009-09-20 The Gorge 020

2009-09-20 The Gorge
Trip Length: 8.14 km
YTD: 311.23
More pictures are here.
The Google Earth kmz is here.

No comments:

Post a Comment