Kayak Trip #50 Upper Chain O' Lakes, 8-31-12

On this beautiful Friday evening, we headed out for a peaceful paddle on Waupaca's Upper Chain O' Lakes. Putting in at Knight's Landing, we headed through Manomin Lake to Pope Lake where we scared up some ducks. Paddling down the creek to Marl Lake, I was reminded of our moonlight cruise where the lightning bugs lit up the way like so many sparkly Christmas lights. If it hadn't been for the pesky mosquitoes after dark, we might have done it again under the full "blue moon" this evening, but I would rather not be chewed alive, especially with the threat of West Nile Virus!

Boaters on Manomin Lake

Kayaking the Upper Chain O' Lakes

Marl Lake

Red Sumac on Marl Lake

We paddled back under the bridge at Knight Road and into Knight Lake where we were met by three very large sandhill cranes. 

I was able to approach them closely without them taking flight. After awhile, I even got them to sing with me! (And don't miss the crane blowing bubbles in the water toward the end of the video! So fun!)

We paddled into Lake Orlando just as the sun was going down and decided to hang around for a few minutes to watch it. Talk about beautiful! This is likely the best sunset I've ever photographed!

Gorgeous!

I submitted this photo to NBC26 facebook friend, weatherman Cameron Moreland who featured it on the news!

When I got home, I got a neat photo of the "Blue Moon." (Ok, so it was digitally tinted, but still cool!)

A perfect end to a perfect evening!

Kayak Trip #49 Chain O' Lakes: Taylor, Otter, Sunset, Rainbow - 8-22-12

This evening, we headed for the Chain O' Lakes as we figured it wouldn't be too busy on a week night. We went to the boat landing on Taylor Lake. As long as you don't have a trailer, I was told by the Waupaca County Parks and Rec. Dept. that you don't have to pay a launch fee. Since we put our kayaks on top of our vehicle, we thought this would be a good deal. The problem was with the parking. All of the spots said "Vehicle with Trailer Only." We had no idea where we were supposed to park, as there wasn't any other place, so we just pulled into one of the trailer spots. It wasn't busy, and there were lots of parking places left, so we figured we'd be OK. We have been there on a weekend when there wasn't any place to park, and we ended up going somewhere else. So, if you plan to go on a summer weekend, be forewarned.

Boat launch at the red dot.

The boat launch.

A friend who has a cottage on Taylor Lake had given me a pontoon ride around the Lakes a couple of months ago and had mentioned that Otter Lake was a nice place to kayak as big boats didn't go there much. So, we headed that direction. There were a few pontoon boats and fishing boats, but no heavy traffic.

Entrance to Otter Lake

Otter Lake

Peaceful Otter Lake

A turtle sunning himself on Otter Lake

Water Lilies and Reeds on Otter Lake

The leaves are beginning to change on Otter Lake.

An interesting swing made from logs on Otter Lake.

A pontoon boat on Otter Lake

After paddling around Otter Lake, we headed into Rainbow Lake. Since water ski hours were still in effect, there were quite a few speed boats on the water. We stayed near the shore and rocked in the waves they provided.

Large rock on the shoreline.

 Paddling towards Sunset Lake, we passed Williams Island, named for Esther Williams, the famous swimmer and movie star from the 1940-50's. At one time, she owned this island and would come up to the Waupaca area and swim in the waters here.

Esther Williams Island

Upon entering Sunset Lake, we saw Onaway Island. Here, you will find Camp Onaway, a summer camp of the Boys' and Girls' Brigade. There looked to be lots of fun activity going on.

Camp Onaway

We paddled our way around the island.

Sunset Lake

Stern wheeler on Sunset Lake

Turned the camera around for once. Me, in front of Onaway Island.

Heading back through the corner of Rainbow Lake, you can see the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King.

You can also see Government Island, a wild life preserve belonging to the state of Wisconsin.

Back at Taylor Lake, we paddled toward Clear Water Harbor, where you can dine, rent boats, or take lake cruises. Here is a stern wheeler, the Chief Waupaca.

They also have a smaller vessel for tours, the Lady of the Lakes.

Dining at the Harbor Bar and Restaurant is fun, whether you come by land or by water. We ate here last week, and the food was excellent.

The pier and deck overlooking the water at the Harbor Bar. 

You can eat inside or outside, or even in your boat as they have dockside service!

It was time to head home, but not before we enjoyed another beautiful sunset from the water.

If you are interested, you can read some of the history of the Chain O' Lakes here.

Kayak Trip #48 White Lake - 8-17-12

It was great to get back on the water today after an 11-day hiatus. Hubby has been busy rebuilding our deck, and I've been kind of laid up after an epidural steroid injection last week. The old back was starting to act up again, so I went back to the doctor for some help. Had to take it easy for a few days, which ended up being more than a week. I was ready to get back out there!

We headed out to White Lake, which is east of Waupaca, and north of Weyauwega on Hwy 110. This is a large lake, with lots of reeds and lake weeds. There is an effort underway to try to keep the invasive species under control, so boating is restricted to lanes marked by buoys. 

It was fun going from one marker to the other as we paddled our way around an island. We were the only ones on the water, although we did see people on shore. I'm sure there are a lot of fishing boats here at other times. We were there in the late afternoon.

The only wildlife we saw were some gulls, geese, and a king bird. There are likely fish there, but the water was too dark to see any.

It wasn't the most interesting place to paddle, but it was another lake we can mark off our list. There was a pretty good wind, so we did have some waves and exercised our muscles paddling into a headwind on the way back. It was a good workout. :)

Afterwards, we headed into Weyauwega and stopped at the Dairy Bar for supper. I remember going to the original place (which burned down) with my dad when I was a little kid, so this business has been around a long time. Good food, yummy ice cream. Had to take a walk after we got home so I wouldn't feel so guilty eating so much!

Kayak Trip #47 Waupaca River, Hwy. 22/54 to Harrington Rd. Bridge with Phil - 8-6-12

Our friend, Phil contacted us and suggested we do a river trip with him, as he had never kayaked a river before. We chose the same section we did last Saturday, as it is the only one in the area with sufficient water for a decent paddle right now. It's also pretty easy, with very few obstacles to get around.

Lynn dropped me and our kayaks off at the bridge and then left to go meet Phil. While he was gone, I decided to put in and wait for them in the water. Well... I got my kayak down the embankment, but as I was trying to get myself down, I slipped, and my kayak went floating out into the stream. I tried to grab it with my paddle, but it was just out of reach. In the meantime, I am sliding down the slippery grass watching my kayak heading toward the middle of the river. By the time I got my footing, it was about 10 yards away. So, just as the guys returned with Phil's kayak, they saw my kayak floating away by itself, and then they saw me chasing through the water after it. Luckily, it was only about knee-deep there, so I was able to catch it. Note to self: next time, hang onto the tow rope! lol

The guys still had to shuttle vehicles to the take-out point, so I while I waited, I found some entertainment. This little guy was cute:

Although the frog was pretty sweet, he wasn't very sociable, so I decided to paddle upstream to a fallen tree that Phil had seen from the shore. He didn't think anyone could get through, so I thought I'd take a look in case we decided to do that segment sometime. I think it might be possible to get through on the left (upstream) side.

Thinking it unwise to try to get through this tangle while by myself, I turned around and headed downstream, floating most of the way.

The guys returned shortly thereafter and put in.

The paddle downstream was nice. We saw the eagle again, but I didn't have my camera turned on at the time, so he got away without a photo. It was a fun night, and Phil enjoyed his first kayak river run. So did we!