Kayaking Trifecta

This past week has been a banner week for kayaking. The best days were also the days that Dave races his R.C. sailboat in the afternoon, so we took short jaunts in the morning. On Monday we paddled the perimeter of nearby Hillmoor Lake, and it was so calm that we were able to see lots of big fish and quite a few fish nesting spots underwater in the sand. Today we launched at the Savannas Preserve State Park, which we haven't done in several years.

The backwaters are getting choked with lily pads, reeds and grasses, but the water was still about 4 feet deep the whole way. 

This calm early morning paddling experience was great for reflections.

We also came across these pretty flowers that Google is telling me are Crinum Lilies.

Two days of fresh water kayaking was a nice change of pace, but on Tuesday we were also back in saltwater up in Vero Beach. We launched at a small park near the municipal marina and had a fantastic time pretending that we we were cruising again while paddling through the mooring field of double up rafted boats. We headed out into the mangrove channels leading to the Indian River/Intracoastal Waterway.  This is where boats anchor instead of moor, some of which didn't make out to good in recent storms.

This boat still had people living on it, but it apparently dragged anchor into the mangroves.

Kayaking is going to be challenging for awhile because the excess water from Lake Okeechobee is being dumped into the St. Lucie River in preparation for the coming rainy and hurricane season. This water is nasty and looks like hot cocoa. Since it is fresh water, it can also cause algae blooms and kill the seagrass beds. The St. Lucie eventually merges with the Indian River and depending on the tide, the gross water flows north and south or out into the Atlantic Ocean. We will need to be quite vigilant and imaginative to find ways to avoid the affected areas.

Photo of the milky brown water heading out the St. Lucie Inlet 'borrowed' from Facebook.