beyond the bow. . .June 12, 2010

Today heralded two firsts for us, we had never put in at this spot before and we kayaked for the first time with our friend, Mark.

We set out a little before 0800 and the weather was perfect. Originally, I had joked that I would keep our location a secret because it was so beautiful and we seemed to have it all to ourselves. It was so perfect a location, however, I have to share it with you. Thanks to the knowledge of our friend Mark, we put in at Brooks Landing in Chickasaw. The put-in was very nice and immediately we were in Chickasaw Creek, a tributary of Mobile River.



The water was almost perfectly still, creating mirror images of the trees along the banks. The sky was as clear blue as could be and I had trouble kayaking because I kept reaching for my camera.



As we paddled closer to Chicksabouge Park, you could tell a noticeable change in the temperature of the water. The characteristic coolness of this creek was very refreshing after having kayaked for an hour or so.


I always love when we kayak to listen to the birds in the trees and look for sightings of wildlife and flowers along the banks. At one point, we thought we had found a bank of wild azaleas --these were the brightest pink flowers I had ever seen. Upon paddling nearer, however, our "azaleas" ended up to be a swimming float that had somehow been lost and ended up on shore.

The level of the water is still high after our rains and the flooding to the north of us, because the areas of sandy beaches which dot the path of the creek, were completely covered with the tannin colored water.

It was a wonderful day of kayaking, nature and fellowship. As usual, I didn't want to come back to the put-in and get out of the boat. At least I know that next week will bring another excursion.