Happy 4th of July

 Holiday today!   Independence Day!

What will I do to celebrate?   Not a thing.

But yesterday, I went to the lake, but only to put in my kayak and head up the South Santiam River.  Foster Reservoir is fed by two rivers--the South Santiam, which for the most part runs along the side of Highway 20 and the Middle Santiam, which first passes through Green Peter Reservoir, then whatever is let out of Green Peter ends up in Foster.

I routinely paddle up both rivers as far as I can, until I hit water too shallow or rapids, as on the middle Santiam.  Even though I'm paddling up river from Foster, the going is easy, as there's really little current and the water, at first, is deep.  The going is pleasant and easy.  Coming back is often a different story.  You battle the wind in your face, sometimes very strong wind, especially by late afternoon, even though you're going downriver.   It can be a tough paddle back into the wind to Calikins boat ramp, at times.

It was a most pleasant day.    Just in the low 80's, slight breeze, almost nobody on the river, once I was a bit on up river from the bridge.   Just upriver from the bridge is where the motor boaters hang out in droves, anchored, swimming, relaxing, when they're tired of racing about or pulling people on blow ups behind their boats.   I knew it would not be pleasant on Foster with all the holiday motor boaters.  Best to let them have the lake and go up the river.  

I'm not a kayaker who gets out there to clock in miles.  I just want to laze around and see interesting things, down in the water or on the bank, listen to the birds, other sounds I don't hear living in the city of Albany.  It was a great day.

Here's some of what I saw, in the next video, as far as wildlife.  Newts, Canada Geese and Pike.  I'm not a fish expert and was looking down from the surface at Soft Bend, but pretty sure they are pike due to that one dorsal fin that's not far from the tail.   Pike are rather scorned here because they eat baby salmon.  But they're everywhere.  However, I'm no fish ID expert.  Newts are extremely common on the South Santiam.  Just don't touch them and especially don't lick them, although why would someone do that.  Their skin contains the same poison as puffer fish.  

I went as far as I could go, to the soft bend, I call the place, with a rocky bottom that turns shallow on the corner with maybe a hint of rapids.  A couple hundred feet before Soft Bend, a dead bloated pike floated, covered in flies.  

At that point, I tried to get out of the kayak and thought I'll just pull it up through.  Instead, I almost immediately took a nose dive, landing in the water on my face.  There was enough water to break my fall but I skinned my knee.  The rocks are slippery with algae, loose rolling, larger river rock--not suitable for my loose fitting easily rolled sandals.

So I headed back, at that point.  I was out on the river a long time and got home tired but happy.  I'd not eaten all day.   I really had little food in the frig.  I have canned soup and rice and such I can cook but I wasn't going to take the time before I left.    With the kayak in the back, the back is open so I can't stop at a store along the way.   When I got home I cooked some rice and ate a bowl of cereal too.  

I asked a Lebanon friend if she wanted to go to the park breakfast this morning but she said no, she was tired, that the bus out of Sweet Home, to Albany, had been late.  After work, she waits with a coworker for that bus at the bus stop, so her coworker won't have to wait in a park with lots of homeless shenanigans, alone.  She said she thought there'd been an accident between Sweet Home and Lebanon that delayed it.

I looked it up and sure enough.  The accident still had the highway closed by 8:00 p.m. and sounded bad.  Two trucks involved, one on fire and sounds like someone died inside one truck with it on fire while people desperately tried to save them.   Guess I'll probably hear more about it later.  Wonder if it will be alcohol or high speed involved as is common around here.

Today I think our temps may hit low 90's by end of day.  That's not too bad.  Hotter in days after that.  That's life.