Kayaking and Hiking Adventures

  Another return to a place we've been to before. We chose Turner Lake so that a friend could come with us to paddleboard, and she was nervous about going down a river. And being cold. So to Turner we went. It was a gorgeous day. Perfect temperature, gentle breeze. I'd rather be on a river where there aren't as many people, but this was fine. We had a fourth friend with us, without a board or kayak, so we brought our canopy and some chairs. After we floated for a bit, we went back so she could take a turn.  I volunteered to stay behind and take a nap, while the other 3 went out. While I didn't actually doze off, it was very comfortable laying in the shade with the breeze.  The only negative issue was trying to back up our new to us trailer down the boat ramp. Since  we don't have much practice, it took us a while. It didn't help that people kept walking behind and in front of the truck as we were trying to back up and/or pull ahead to readjust. That and the amou

 Our third season began earlier that our first two. The weather has been so nice in May that we managed to get out on the Willamette before June! One difference in this float was now we have a small trailer to haul our kayaks in. No more lifting these heavy Hobies onto the truck racks. We got it used, and although it's a bit rusty, and one of the lights doesn't work very well, it does the job. I can even get it in the garage when we are not using them. The Buena Vista boat ramp was supposed to be redone last year, but they stopped for some reason. I hear it may be closed again this summer for construction, so it was nice to use it before that happened. The ramp itself is fine right now. The float was amazing. We only saw 2 other kayakers, and a few jet skiers for a bit. Otherwise, it was just the 2 of us on the river. Quiet, with great weather. Not a ton of wildlife, but we did see 1 small family of ducks, some osprey, and a bald eagle. There was a lot of pollen, mostly cottonw