It was another hot humid Sunday. Twelve kayakers were greeted today by a nice breeze, a huge reservoir of cool clear water to jump into, and a caretaker who took our money then said that all our CANOES had to be back by 7:00 P.M., because he would be locking the gate by then. I wondered how many people he actually ever locked in.
Good wheels (and muscle) came in handy as we transported our kayaks down that long sandy beach. There were plenty of beachgoers and boaters, more than I have ever seen here. After the easy shore launch we first ventured to the left onto Black Creek. That route did not last long. Shallow water forced an early turn around. With Fish in the lead and Cindy close behind enjoying her new lighter paddles, we decided to follow the leader and paddle the circumference for a while. A loon was happy to stay by the creek away from the bigger boats. The waves were not a problem for us. The majority of the boats were anchored or on one of the many beaches with their occupants standing or swimming in the water.
Our first break was on the island. Several yakers were out of the boat and into the refreshing water in no time. It felt so good. We paddled for another hour, spotted another great looking beach, and decided to take a second swim. It was too good to resist. A unique flying machine flew overhead. It looked like a Da Vinci creation. After nine miles and 4.5 hours, we were back onto the sandy beach at the park. Thank you Amir for bringing your GPS and sending the pics to document our route.
The next challenge for those who could stay, was to find a cool place to eat. Buffalo Head had closed, Joels (with the steer) burned down, Frontier closed long ago, and we knew Vans would probably not have air conditioning. Prior googling was not too helpful as many nearby places did not display their menus. The closest place with local atmosphere was a place in Prospect called Tavern on the Gorge. Four of us were willing to check it out, then move to the next place if it did not work out. You cannot always tell how good a place is from the outside, right. How about if the Christmas lights are still up inside? We asked for a menu. They had the basics: Angus burger, chicken, Rueben, a couple salads, beer on tap and friendly locals. We stayed, and all ordered burgers which were very good. We looked around the outside of the tavern for the gorge, but only saw flat land. A customer on the patio said there was a lookout across the street. Because the trees were so full of leaves, she did not think we would see much and suggested we take the nearby road a little ways to get a better look. There was no place to get out along the narrow road, but I got a pretty nice picture from the car window. It was certainly an adventurous Sunday.
The twelve: Fish, Cindy MP, Mike M, Ruth, Bill G, Dan W, Maria, John, Amir, Kim W, newbies Krista and Theron.
- Kim W
