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River Ramblings
River Ramblings
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River Ramblings
This past Sunday, I arranged for our local kayak livery service to shuttle me and my
kayak about 15 to 20 miles upstream from town, so that I could spend the day relaxing
on the river. I had never paddled this section of river before, so I was quite excited to be
able to take all day to explore my
new surroundings.
I awoke around 6:30 in the morning to get my self
prepared for the trip. After packing a picnic
lunch and the essentials for my trip, I headed
down to the livery to meet with the owner’s son,
who was to me take upstream. It took only a few
minutes for me to unload my gear, strap it safely
to their trailer and head on down the road. We
talked casually about kayaking and canoing for
a while and the 45 drive to the put-in point
seemed to fly by. When we reached low water
crossing, where I was being dropped off, I asked
how much I owed for the shuttle and he replied
that his dad said, “It was on the house.” So it
turned out that I was going to spend the day being entertained and it wasn’t going to
cost me anything, aside from a little sunscreen and the expense of my picnic lunch.
This past Sunday, I arranged for our local kayak livery service to shuttle me and my
kayak about 15 to 20 miles upstream from town, so that I could spend the day relaxing
on the river. I had never paddled this section of river before, so I was quite excited to be
able to take all day to explore my
new surroundings.
I awoke around 6:30 in the morning to get my self
prepared for the trip. After packing a picnic
lunch and the essentials for my trip, I headed
down to the livery to meet with the owner’s son,
who was to me take upstream. It took only a few
minutes for me to unload my gear, strap it safely
to their trailer and head on down the road. We
talked casually about kayaking and canoing for
a while and the 45 drive to the put-in point
seemed to fly by. When we reached low water
crossing, where I was being dropped off, I asked
how much I owed for the shuttle and he replied
that his dad said, “It was on the house.” So it
turned out that I was going to spend the day being entertained and it wasn’t going to
cost me anything, aside from a little sunscreen and the expense of my picnic lunch.
Very soon after putting –in, I came across the
first group of rapids to run. I thought to myself,
“This is what I needed.”
The force of the water is overwhelming in both
its strength and beauty. The roar of white
noise shuts out every thing, just me and my
little boat playing in the same powerful element
that carves down mountains. I relished every
second of it, as it cleared my mind of all that is
mundane.
After the first large set of white water, I drifted
slowly through a deep still pool in the river.
The sun beat down, not the slightest puff of
breeze, the temperature sky –rocketing and
the sound of cicadas singing in
the trees. Only some one from Texas would
probably agree with me, but damn, it sure felt
like home. I quietly paddled over to the shore
for a brief patch of shade and a quick drink of
water. As I sat amongst the towering pecan
trees, I watched the sun shimmer and dance
on the water. Glancing towards the near bank,
a flash caught my eye. Looking closer, I
spotted an awesome juvenile Guadalupe Bass.
This is the Texas state fish and a highly
endangered species.
first group of rapids to run. I thought to myself,
“This is what I needed.”
The force of the water is overwhelming in both
its strength and beauty. The roar of white
noise shuts out every thing, just me and my
little boat playing in the same powerful element
that carves down mountains. I relished every
second of it, as it cleared my mind of all that is
mundane.
After the first large set of white water, I drifted
slowly through a deep still pool in the river.
The sun beat down, not the slightest puff of
breeze, the temperature sky –rocketing and
the sound of cicadas singing in
the trees. Only some one from Texas would
probably agree with me, but damn, it sure felt
like home. I quietly paddled over to the shore
for a brief patch of shade and a quick drink of
water. As I sat amongst the towering pecan
trees, I watched the sun shimmer and dance
on the water. Glancing towards the near bank,
a flash caught my eye. Looking closer, I
spotted an awesome juvenile Guadalupe Bass.
This is the Texas state fish and a highly
endangered species.
My heart uplifted by being able to
witness something so rare, I continued
on with my journey down the river. As I
lazily paddled along taking in the
grandeur of me surroundings, I felt as all
the problems in the world were slipping
away. For the moment there was no
war, no hunger, no pillaging of the land
and no want of any kind. For just an
instant, it seemed as if everything was
going to be alright here on planet earth.
This blissful solitude was quickly
interrupted by, what sounded like a jet
plane, whooshing past my ear. Of
course it
was no jet plane, only a Plains Forktail
Damselfly that had decided to alight on
my kayak and go for a little ride. This
interruption was fortunately timed,
because
I awoke from my peaceful dream world to
hear the rumble of the next set of rapids
hidden just behind the next bend in the
river. After shooting over a small
waterfall
(sorry, the picture didn’t turn out), I came
to a still pool and beheld an awesome
rock
garden in the river. Some of the
boulders were the size of a modest
house and had their own micro-ecology
for flora growing on them. One of my
favorites was ringed with Maiden Hair
Ferns, with clumps of Switchgrass on its
sides and topped with small Cottonwood
trees.
witness something so rare, I continued
on with my journey down the river. As I
lazily paddled along taking in the
grandeur of me surroundings, I felt as all
the problems in the world were slipping
away. For the moment there was no
war, no hunger, no pillaging of the land
and no want of any kind. For just an
instant, it seemed as if everything was
going to be alright here on planet earth.
This blissful solitude was quickly
interrupted by, what sounded like a jet
plane, whooshing past my ear. Of
course it
was no jet plane, only a Plains Forktail
Damselfly that had decided to alight on
my kayak and go for a little ride. This
interruption was fortunately timed,
because
I awoke from my peaceful dream world to
hear the rumble of the next set of rapids
hidden just behind the next bend in the
river. After shooting over a small
waterfall
(sorry, the picture didn’t turn out), I came
to a still pool and beheld an awesome
rock
garden in the river. Some of the
boulders were the size of a modest
house and had their own micro-ecology
for flora growing on them. One of my
favorites was ringed with Maiden Hair
Ferns, with clumps of Switchgrass on its
sides and topped with small Cottonwood
trees.
A little further down stream and across the river was a great stand of Eastern Gama
Grass,which is an ancient ancestor to corn. While taking photos of this exceptional
stand of Native grass, I noticed a turtle sitting on a log with the grass in the background.
I wasn’t able to get close enough to see which type of turtle it was, but it was nice to be
able to share the river with it, all the same. Following the river, moving along at its pace,
so that I could take in Nature’s glory, I saw something that is a bit uncommon in the
Wilderness during hot Texas summers, a shrub in full bloom. It was a Halberd-leaf
Hibiscus, which against all odds, starts blooming when every thing else is beat down by
the heat and drought. . The deep red center of blossom acts like a bulls-eye on a
target to draw in pollinators and the blooms will provide nectar for many insects from now
until the first hard freeze. I decided that I needed to go and take a picture, so that I
could be reminded of the Hibiscuses resilience and beauty, maybe not seeing it in
person, but just remembering that it is there on the banks of the river adding grace to
the world even if no human can see it. When I returned to my kayak, I continued to think
river thoughts and paddled away. When suddenly a Great Blue Heron shot out on the
rushes and up into the air. Apparently, I startled it as it was feeding on the river’s edge.
It landed high up on a snag and looked around nervously, trying to decide if I could
paddle up the dead tree and get it or not.
Grass,which is an ancient ancestor to corn. While taking photos of this exceptional
stand of Native grass, I noticed a turtle sitting on a log with the grass in the background.
I wasn’t able to get close enough to see which type of turtle it was, but it was nice to be
able to share the river with it, all the same. Following the river, moving along at its pace,
so that I could take in Nature’s glory, I saw something that is a bit uncommon in the
Wilderness during hot Texas summers, a shrub in full bloom. It was a Halberd-leaf
Hibiscus, which against all odds, starts blooming when every thing else is beat down by
the heat and drought. . The deep red center of blossom acts like a bulls-eye on a
target to draw in pollinators and the blooms will provide nectar for many insects from now
until the first hard freeze. I decided that I needed to go and take a picture, so that I
could be reminded of the Hibiscuses resilience and beauty, maybe not seeing it in
person, but just remembering that it is there on the banks of the river adding grace to
the world even if no human can see it. When I returned to my kayak, I continued to think
river thoughts and paddled away. When suddenly a Great Blue Heron shot out on the
rushes and up into the air. Apparently, I startled it as it was feeding on the river’s edge.
It landed high up on a snag and looked around nervously, trying to decide if I could
paddle up the dead tree and get it or not.
After eye-balling me for a few minutes the Heron,
made the decision that it was safe to come down
and continue to feed, more than
likely on the millions of Rio Grande Leopard
Frogs that were hopping along on the river
banks. I stopped for a while after leaving the
Heron to its dinner, and was amazed by the
abundance of the RG Leopard Frogs. Most
were small, about the size of a quarter to a half
dollar.
I did spot one that was much smaller than the
rest and begged it to stand still so that I could
.
have a better look. It was smaller than the finger nail on my pinkie finger, but was an
exact miniature of the larger Frogs.
After following the tiny little Frog around, I finally was able to get it to feel safe enough
that it would hold still, so that I could take its picture.
With sunset approaching, I pushed on down the river and soon came to my take out
point. A little sad, to have to leave the river for today, but with a full heart looking back
at the beauty and joys that the river had shared with me, not only on this day but also
in the years past and with hope for many more wonderful times in the future
exact miniature of the larger Frogs.
After following the tiny little Frog around, I finally was able to get it to feel safe enough
that it would hold still, so that I could take its picture.
With sunset approaching, I pushed on down the river and soon came to my take out
point. A little sad, to have to leave the river for today, but with a full heart looking back
at the beauty and joys that the river had shared with me, not only on this day but also
in the years past and with hope for many more wonderful times in the future