Four of us, Marlene & Marv, Bud Sawyer and myself set out on a gorgeous sunny day to clean up the trash on the Lower Platte; somewhat to our surprise, there wasn't very much of it! Arriving at Loon Lake we decided to inspect the shoreline, a decision that netted us a satisfactory collection of "stuff."
Anecdotes of interest? On the lake inspection, Mary Lee spotted two distinct items, hopelessly entangled in a thicket of branches and limbs, very close to the shore where it appeared to be spongy footing. A couple paddling by, asked whatever was I doing, battling the branches with my paddle, loathe to step out for fear I'd never be able to return, and when I explained my behavior, the guy offered to help. Which he did, paddling and then wading into the branches where he easily retrieved both items. One of them was a full can of beer which I offered to him as a reward for his efforts. Also, Marlene overheard one of the fish hatchery workers say that if the salmon numbers don't significantly increase, they won't be processing salmon next year on the Platte.
Items of note we found? Marv found an ancient rusted animal trap -- vicious looking, and Marlene specialized in bottles and glassware. Bud gathered a rotting sheet of plywood, generously coated with mounds of zebra mussels. We were especially glad to deposit them in the trash at our lunch spot. Altogether it was a lovely day. Inquiring later at the livery, I was told that, "No, the staff had NOT picked up after the Labor Day crowds, but there was a group that did a really good clean-up job about two weeks ago!" That was the TAPC on August 31!
Mary Lee Orr