June 18 2nd Annual Lower Platte Moonlight Paddle
Published on 6/18/2011
The group included Steve and Pat Somers, Sara Cockrell, Dean and Diane Tobias, Marv and Marlene Puska, Linda Pelkey, John Walton and his daughter Claire, Tracie Lord, Karen Mueller and her friend Erika and Erika's boys, 8 year old Isaak and 6 year old Jonah. The group gathered during the afternoon at Karen's cottage on Crystal Lake and enjoyed conversation, a walk over to Lake Michigan and a wonderful picnic dinner complete with S'mores over a fire pit.
At about 8:00 pm we left the cottage to head for the put in. We arrived and unloaded boats and gear, shuttled cars and headed down the river at about 9:15 pm. Steve had handed out glow necklaces and bracelets to everyone to wear as we headed down the river. Although the adults enjoyed them, the two boys were VERY excited about this unexpected prize!
As we paddled along, with the daylight fading, we saw various wildlife including deer and a muskrat. As it got darker we also started seeing numerous lightening bugs which was very cool! There were no mishaps and we completed the paddle around 10:20 PM. Unfortunately the full moon did not rise until after 11:00 so we did not actually get to paddle under the moon and with it being so close to the summer solstice, it did not get as dark as some people would have liked, however, it was another successful event and fun was had by all!
After the paddle, Steve, Pat, Karen, Tracie, Dean and Diane headed back to Karen's Cottage for the night while others headed for home.
In the morning Diane and Pat cooked eggs, pancakes and sausages for everyone before Steve, Karen and Tracie headed off for their next paddling adventure on the Upper Pine and Dean and Diane headed off for a bike ride around Crystal Lake.
Watch for next year's event to be posted next spring so you can join in the fun!