I went to Scarborough Marsh a day ahead of the sunset canoe trip, both to see if there was space for me to sign up, and to decide if I really wanted to go. I had a little experience in a kayak, and absolutely no experience in a canoe. My hiker/backpacker friend says kayaks are ‘tippy’, but sitting up high as you do in a canoe feels a lot ‘tippier’ to me. I enjoyed watching the woman in the feature photo as she blew up her inflatable kayak and proceeded to head out on the Dunstan River. It’s great she says, and weighs in at 40 pounds. She also said that her husband hates it, which is why she was paddling by herself. You see how high the river was that morning? Well, by Friday night it was low tide and our group of inexperienced canoeists were bumping into each other and getting stuck in the mud. But no tipping! And no alligators. Oops, I just thought of a reason to not get an inflatable kayak.
Knowing this was an official Audubon facility had me expecting some big, fancy building, so this little place was a surprise. But I quickly learned that these people were very professional and experienced, and with a lot of information on how essential the marsh is to the ecology of the area. Maybe I’ll go back and rent a kayak. They said if I put in there they’ll know to look for me if I fail to come back. That seems to me to be a plus. Taking pictures from the canoe was almost impossible, I thought any move on my part would tip us over. But I did manage to get a couple that morning, and also on the trip… with the iPhone of course. I wasn’t about to risk the ‘real’ camera. I posted one picture on Facebook already, so if you’ve seen it I apologize.
Did you notice that the seagull is bringing home the bacon, er, crab?
A Snowbird's Life Through the Lens 