Hi everyone!
This is the Desert Diva (aka Camille Walton from Las Cruces, NM) reporting on the paddle trip down the Pere Marquette. We all converged on the Bowman Bridge access. By all I mean my husband John Walton, John Heiam and Lois Goldstein, Jim Cooper, Jane Cloutier, Jacqui Morgenstein, and Marlene Puska. It was nice to make new friends and get reacquainted with old friends since I’m rarely up in this area.
This was a fabulous paddle! As I’d just flown in from the South on Tuesday along with a big storm, it was a perfect paddle to get back in the hang of it. This is a very scenic river and easy going. There were only a couple of brief rapids to speak of. I mean you were through it before you knew it. We had lunch at a put in/take out spot at Rainbow Rapids. This was a good chance to stretch our legs and lunch was the warmest part of the trip.
The huge trees that lined the river and occasional clouds kept our paddle trip nice and cool. I can’t forget to mention the many fishermen we saw along the river too. Some of us were able to witness one man struggling to reel in a large salmon. Unfortunately for him, the fish lived to see another day. After a pleasant day's paddle we took out at Upper Branch. Most of the group went on to celebrate at the local Dairy Queen. My husband and I headed off to Ludington to meet an old friend from Nursing School. I highly recommend this paddle trip to anyone who hasn’t done this before.
Photos by Camille