As part of National Native American Heritage Month, Google’s Doodle today is Celebrating the Kayak. It was interesting to read the history of this water vessel and it made me think of all the joyous ventures we have taken in our kayaks over the years on rivers, lakes and streams. Being on the water offers scenery that simply cannot be experienced any other way. I prefer being in a single person kayak, as opposed to a canoe or two person kayak, and I enjoy the use of a paddle more so then using an oar.
Our adventures in kayaks have taken us to many beautiful places, like Virginia’s Shenandoah River, the Wicomico River on the Eastern shores of Maryland, the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, Lake Nockamixon in Pennsylvania, a small lake in Florida with alligators, a Finger lake in NY, a river in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey and Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We have also been on many small remote waterways that we do not know their names.
Kayaks can often float on water that is very shallow. On some jaunts, we had to become aware of the comings and goings of tides, so as not to get stranded when the tide is too shallow or the tide is too high restricting our passage under some small bridges or not enough water to make a return passage.
Being on the water immerses us into the world of local wildlife. We’ve encountered schools of young snapping turtles feeding at the surface of the water, water fowl observing us, fish jumping after insects, and even one time, cows wading in the water on a very warm day. We prefer remote places, away from people so we can take in the sounds of nature, simply taking our time and enjoying being carried by the water beneath our kayaks.
Since our kayaks are fair water vessels, the ocean has never been a place to explore. On our one venture on Lake Superior, it proved to not be a place for us, since we quickly learned that this large body of water was not merely a lake, but quite like the ocean with its waves and powerful forces.
It is always a joy and an adventure to be on the water in a kayak.
Thank you early Arctic Tribes for creating this water craft all those many years ago.
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