Sunday, June 2, 2013

2013.04.248 - Babies on Parade

We haven't had much luck getting organized for paddling so far this year. But today was a beautiful sunny Sunday and Louise and I were able to squeeze in a quick paddle on our home waters of The Gorge today.

And here's the first picture taken with my new GoPro 3 that I got for my birthday present. Thanks everyone for chipping in to help me get it. (You know who you are.)
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Actually, it wasn't the first picture taken with the GoPro. Indy was very curious it about when I first turned it on. The first picture is really this one:
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Anyway, we put in and with the current approaching a low tide slack...
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...we took a little spin on the normally fast-running waters under the Tillicum Bridge. Here we saw a seal head popping up now and then as it hunted for a fishy breakfast.
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It can sometimes be total unpassable here as the inlet narrows, bottling up the water when the tide changes, creating thrashing white water and standing waves.

Heading back, we saw a heron taking advantage of all the fish being scared under the bridge by the seal. He wasn't going hungry.
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We paddled across to check out what we call The Iron Man, a large sculpture on a dock. We were pleased to see that repairs had made to its wings that received some damage over the winter. We also spotted something else you don't see everyday....
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... a heron with a mohawk.
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He flew off and landed ahead of us and did some fishing, losing his hairdo as the water slicked her feathers back.
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Further up The Gorge, we paddled by a gaggle of geese, including a few babies.
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I've seen this movie! It's Jurassic Park!
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A pair of swans is nesting nearby and daddy swan decided that the geese were a little to close to the nest. Obviously taking lessons from a cat, he made himself look big...
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...and gave a goose...well, he gave the goose a goose. Mom swan appeared to be nesting nearby on the shore but there were no signs of any baby swans.
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We approached Craigflower Bridge. Or what's left of it. Although many pilings remain, most of the roadbed is gone as the bridge is demolished to make way for a replacement.
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The last remnants of the roadbed are behind Louise.
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Two temporary crossing have been built while the bridge is being replaced: a temporary footbridge for pedestrians and a construction bridge. The project is expected to be finished by the end of the year.
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We visited another pair of nesting swans. And this time we saw some babies.
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Oh, they're so cute! Squee!

I snapped some pictures, and then we headed back...
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...stopping only to admire the baby geese again.
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Trip length: 6.20 km
YTD: 24.42 km
More pictures are here.

2013-06-02