Participants above were Marvin, Marv & Marlene, Paige, Matt, Lois, Tracie, John, Mary Lee
The day was perfect in every sense; we launched at ten, delighted to have the first "leg" nearly to ourselves. Unusual amounts of Cardinal Flower appeared on both banks. What a pleasure to see the river flora in a much more natural state than I can remember in recent years. At Loon Lake we split up, Marlene and I circling to the "left," and the others followed the "right" shoreline. A greater proportion of our time and most of our trash was discovered on the lake. Refer to the photos to see Lois' treasure--a huge shoe! Marlene found an antique glass bottle and together we found enough fishing gear, fake worms, sardines, lures, hooks, leaders to stock a tackle box--including a "Hunter's Protection Horn" which worked! Just in case we came across a bear seeking an early salmon catch, we didn't dispose of the horn until the end of the trip. Tracie's treasure was an oversized pair of flip-flops. John noted that there was an exceptionally large quantity of broken glass in our trash bags.
Stopping for lunch just above the weir--which was open--we witnessed a huge group of tubers exit their Lansing bus and clamber onto their tubes. The attendant there, bored, with nothing to do, mentioned that spawning season is triggered by a (yet-to-happen) decrease in Lake Michigan water temperature.
Paddling close to the mud flats on river left towards the end of the trip, I saw a Solitary Sandpiper and in the deep water a bit farther along, a school of red-eye bass along with a rainbow. Shortly thereafter, a turtle, about six inches in diameter, surfaced right beside my kayak, glanced briefly and dove away. I remember early days when these turtles were plentiful along the Platte. (Refer to photo account for snapper pic)
The trip was enhanced by the presence of two young friends of Lois and John who were up to every challenge--refer again to John's photos. Altogether, it was a highly successful outing which ended earlier than expected, thanks entirely to the scanty availability of trash.
(In this photo Matt had to dive down to get a plastic bag stuck on a branch deep in the river.)
Written by Mary Lee Orr and Photos by John Heiam