Who knew that in the middle of our valley is a hidden treasure, water and wildlife wetlands. We put our kayaks in where the channel meets the river and headed upstream. Dragonflies, full of color, little helicopters joined us at the beginning of our voyage, hundreds of them. We first rounded the bend and looking back could see from behind the bridge, the cars on the road and the small town. Soon though, the channel winds. A dog barked in the background and Tom saw a herd of goats, munching on the grass. Here then,we ceased to look back, only forward to what might lay ahead. After another curve, we spotted a herd of sheep grazing. And then, except for the mountains that encircled, skewed only by a new and different vantage point, we left our world and entered something new and hidden and distant, a secret, we thought, not visible from anywhere else in the valley.
The channel narrowed, the reeds grew higher, the grasses turned greener and the lily pads with their yellow flowers were abundant. Then the frogs started jumping in and out of the water and the ibis took off, straight up with their long beaks and feet dangling and then moving forward. The thunderous sound of geese taking flight made us stop and pause. As stealth-like as we tried to be, we could not fool all of the creatures, but the two white pelicans stayed in place for what seemed a long time and then we watched their large wings move them into flight too. Everything seemed distant and almost prehistoric, yet within reach.
The sound and smell and feel, was of the jungle and we took in more wildlife than we have previously seen at one time. Quietly we moved along, trying not to disturb. Soon the grass was so thick in places that the water nearly disappeared from view. We kept paddling and the channel underneath us carried as forward as we paddled through the grass with not much more than our heads visible to each other. Soon we were back in the water again and the way widened.
Which way to go? Dead ends seemed to be all around us. Right or left, east or west. We had a destination in mind, but no real understanding about how long it would take to get to the steel bridge, the one in the middle of the valley, or if we could do it. We veered left and found water. We paddled through an old open dam where the current made it tough to pass through, hit points where the water was shallow so that we had to skooch to push through it, passed under now unused train tracks, but mostly we saw nothing that reminded us of who we are, what we have and what surrounded us.
It was a day to disappear, to sit almost still, to absorb it in and my mind and my imagination drifted between, thinking ourselves as Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn in 'The African Queen', and based on the cloth-like remnants in the tall reeds, of those in another time, who were not so fortunate as us on this very great and important escape. And then my thoughts would skip again as I saw my husband and smiled and remembered that these are the kind of adventures that gave me no option but to fall in love with him. And then I moved to awe as I watched the birds fly overhead, the frogs jump and the lovely flowers and continue to be amazed at the beauty God created and the seemingly untouched landscape.
Soon we arrive safely back, under the bridge. Our simple kayaking morning having turned into a lovely adventure. Now, on the days when we are itching to get out of town, but have no plans in mind, we can transport in our dreams or in our kayaks to our safari day in July and we look forward to the trip again (maybe next weekend). Join us, if you dare.
Thanks, Tom for taking the pictures.
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