Papa Pea saved and saved his allowance until he had enough to purchase the solo canoe he's been wanting for quite some time. Today was the first time we've taken it out to try it.
We hauled it up to a little puddle of a lake . . . so if the paddler dumped out on the maiden voyage, there would be less chance of drowning. The little lake at the deepest was only five feet so six foot-plus owner of said solo canoe would be able to stand in the water without too much trouble. (His wife might have been in jeopardy.)
But no fear. All went extremely well and the canoe was pronounced sea-worth and very stable.
Papa Pea has quite a bit of leg to fit in a canoe, but that's always been a problem even in our full-sized canoes.
Here he's trying it out kneeling in the traditional paddling position.
After the initial test run, he asked me if I wanted to try it. Sure!
We both agreed that it handled extremely well, but using the kayak paddle as he is in the first two pictures made "steering" much easier than using a traditional canoe paddle as I am in the above picture.
After the canoe christening, on the way home we stopped at a favorite lake which was totally deserted except for two loons. As we watched, one dove underwater and came up with a fish in its bill! We stretched out on the dock, and both of us could have fallen fast asleep without too much trouble.
Regarding something I can't figure out concerning this same lake, I'd like someone to explain this to me. I used my zoom lens to capture the shot of this large rock sticking out of the water a ways out in the lake. When boating on this lake (a fairly good fishing lake) one has to be very aware of the general vicinity of this rock because normally the tip of it is just under the surface of the water. So, why, after a winter of heavy snow and a summer of heavy rain is the rock currently sticking almost two feet out of the water? Wouldn't you think the water level of the lake would be higher than usual right now rather than lower?
16 comments:
Nice canoe. That rock sticking out like that after a wet summer doesn't really make any sense to me either. How is the lake fed? Maybe you have some beavers that made a dam upstream?
Gosh, that looks like fun. And I smiled when you said about the lake being deserted. Isn't that grand???? It means "THEY" have GONE HOME. Don and I were thrilled with our newly returned quiet in the neighborhood. It's been an AWFUL summer---more tourists on dirt bikes/four wheelers/dune buggies than we've ever had. Now the silence is so wonderful.
Glad you took a fun day.
How fun! I'd rather be in a canoe than a kayak with Hubby. That photo of the lake looks so peaceful. Not sure about water height and rock. Hm.
Those are some long legs, all right! So glad to see you two doing something OTHER than work! What a beautiful, peaceful place. I'm with Sparkless - a beaver? A leak? It should be chock-a-block full after the summer you've had!
Sparkless - It's a big lake and I don't think a beaver dam could make that much of a difference. If the dam held back that much water, another area would have been flooded extensively. Still a mystery . . .
Sue - Gads, that noisy traffic you've had to endure this summer would make be think about gettin' out my shotgun! (Or maybe just setting up a taut wire across the road?) Will they be back with the fall colors?
Kristina - I like canoes better over kayaks, too. I don't like the feeling of sitting so very low in the water in a kayak. Plus, even on a calm day you tend to get wetter in a kayak!
Susan - Nope, the lake's too big for a leak. Just one of those great mysteries, I guess!
Sob----yes!
Does your water feed into something else or supply drinking water?
We've been thinking about getting an Old Town canoe too for 2.... so I'm having 'canoe envy' right now!!! So looks like fun! I'd say the canoe christening went quite well. Interesting about the rock!
Nancy po - Nope!
Lisa - We have a full-sized Old Town, too, and love it. It's indestructible (although heavy) and very, very stable. We've even used it as a "fishing boat" quite a bit. I'm sure you and Tom would enjoy one if you went ahead with the purchase.
Beauty of a canoe, and I love the kneeling, only Minnesotans do that LOL. Strange indeed about the rock.
Charlie says tectonic plates shifting?… I guess that happens a lot in Oregon in the mountain lakes
Erin and Charlie - Tectonic plates shifting, huh? That's kind of scary to think there might be that much movement going on!
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