Kolden July 4, 2010 Report, Final day

After a lovely night's rest in Whitey, we made coffee and broke camp.  The wind was blowing and I noticed this foxtail bunch waving in the breeze.  Jim showed me how to run his camera so I took a few pictures.

I find the sandstone and adobe badland erosion so visually appealing!

We came across this brand spanking new, state of the art, unisex biffy on the prairie. 

Not only did this clean rest room have soft toilet paper but, art work to boot!

Art work was both on top of and under the lid!

Sandstone layers, perhaps once the ocean floor, begged to be photographed.

We came across an outstanding crop of peas and I had to taste one.  (They were wonderful.) 

This mulie doe was captured while in a delicate position.

She finished her business and bounded off..."boink, boink, boink"!

And then, we were home.  Another successful vacation come and gone.

Kolden Report, July 4, 2010, Day Two, part two

The pelicans only tolerated our presence for a short while.
  

 

After the pelicans flew, we slowly progressed to the gravel bar where they had been and had a picnic lunch.

The pelicans were unhappy with our presence and continued to circle the area, waiting for our departure.

The fishing must have been pretty good in that spot!

We decided to begin the return journey, sans motor, as the water was quite shallow.  The current was quick and we made good progress. 

We decided to pull to shore and take a hike about in the badlands.

It was here that my last set of camera batteries died, leaving all the photography to Jim and his camera. I was disheartened at the loss of my camera. Fortunately, Jim agreed to shoot items of interest to me such as this interesting weed spray against the stark, dried adobe mud.

A downy weed seed filled head.
 

Jim came across this skull and captured it's essence.

 

Back on the water, a pelican woke from his nap.  He thought he was hidden in the weeds as he didn't offer to leave.

 

Many wary ducks bobbed about but were difficult to shoot as they were quick to fly.
 

 

Again, we encountered young geese who swam ahead of us, watching.

 

Rounding the last bend before the "home stretch", we noticed that the rookery was FULL!

 

 We drifted near them.  Jim took pictures while I kept the canoe positioned.  The birds did not fly! 

 When we finished admiring them, we motored home to Whitey.  Another fabulous day of vacation!

Kolden 4th of July Report, 2010, Day Two, part one

Leaving camp, I was beginning to paddle and Jim told me to quit, as he had the motor in the water and running!  I had no idea...it was so quiet.  What luxury!

Soon, I spotted a "white rock" that upon approach, got up and swam about!

A bit further, we spotted a pelican rookery.

Birds flew about in the salt cedar and willows lining the shore.

Detritus hanging from the bushes was indicative of past raging floodwaters.

We happened upon a gaggle of geese.  They immediately split and tried to evade us.

The closer we got, the more nervous they appeared.    Some would dive to escape our approach.

Flight followed.

This goose wears a look of surprise!

Just when we thought all geese had either flown or dived under to avoid us, I spotted movement on the hillside.  Some of the geese had gotten out of the water and were climbing the cutbank to safety!

We watched in amazement as they used their beaks and wings to haul themselves up and over the steep embankment.

Once on top, they slunk through the grass, still in stealth mode!~

What a sight to see!

Rugged beauty surrounded us as we continued back, into the badlands.

The creek narrowed as we progressed and soft blossoms clung to the partially submerged salt cedar bushes.

A skull watches over the waterway from it's perch on a post.

I had decided early in the day that there would be no going back.  Now, instead of paddling my tail off, I was resting comfortably watching the world go by.

The water was calm and still allowing this reflection.

This old place is situated in a remote yet stunning locale. 

The country has never been so beautiful!

Realizing that we must be near the confluence of the two creeks, we remained watchful.

After a time, we spotted this scoop of pelicans, resting on a shallow gravel bar at the mouth of Timber creek. 

The small creek was running quite a stream of water, making paddling upstream quite difficult. 

After eyeing us for a bit, the squadron of birds took flight.

Kolden 4th of July Report, 2010, Day one.

We loaded up and left home, Smokey and the new trolling motor on top of Whitey.

We came across a neighbor walking home from her swather, stuck in a rut. Jim ran her home while I waited, camera in hand.

I found a soft purple thistle bloom to shoot.

Right behind me a pair of moths rested .

Jim picked me back up and we drove on, passing by this fine old log shack.

After our arrival at the lake, we made camp and had supper in the setting sun.

We drank tea and admired the last rays of daylight softly shining on foxtail fronds.

Sparkling golden waves caught my eye.

Silvery light played off the water.

What a beautiful evening!