I had the day off from work and it was a sunny hot day so I decided to take Rags along with me a kayak trip. I didn’t want to do much but get Rags on the water with me, get some bonding time in a hopeful take a few nice pictures and enjoy some peace and tranquility on the river. I got all of that and no more.
With the summers lack of rain I was expecting the river to be low and it was as low and I have ever seen it. Getting the through the railroad trestle just south of the Essex County Environmental Center’s launch area off of Eagle Rock Ave. was tricky due to the low water level. Additionally there was also a fallen tree that was difficult to get through a bit further up the river. Both of the these obstacles were much easier to deal with on the way back home.
This trip was virtually the same one we took with Scraps and Rags on April 26, 2009, which was Rags first tip on the kayak. Since I was solo today and since it was hot and sunny outside, Rags was calm and well behaved. She never did leave the comfortable bow of the boat I set up for her except for the one time she fell into the water.
To view the photos I took from this trip in my Picasa online album go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lgindoff/20100831KayakingThePassaicRiverWithRags?feat=directlink
As far as wildlife, we chased a couple of blue heron but only got photos of them flying away from me. Rags and I saw a few deer on the Morris County side of the river. One of the deer was depressingly and obviously lame. Thanks G-d Kathy wasn’t with me on the paddle cause she would have had me calling 911 to help the poor thing. I also saw a lot of turtles sunning themselves on logs. Like the blue heron, the turtles are tough to sneak up on and get a good photo of. Fortunately, Rags the dog wasn’t going anywhere and I got some good shots of her.
In total, we were on the water for about 2 and one half hours. It was easy and relaxing and we pulled over in the shade about an hour into the paddle and ate a roast beef sub I got from the new Fairchild Bakery and Deli on the way out. That is about it for now.
Time line according to photos is:
- 1:30: First picture in the river
- 1:43 Approach railroad trestle
- 1:54 Catch blue heron taking off.
- 2:10 See lame deer on Morris bank of the river.
- 2:35 Cross power east-west easement
- 2:47 Come to turn-around point
- 3:30 See healthy white tailed deer on Morris riverside
- 3:36 Approach railroad trestle
- 3:48 Approaching Essex County Environmental Center
- 3:49 Last photo on the water
- 4:10 Pulling out of parking lot.