Kayaking the Crystal River

We had a wonderful three hour paddle down the Crystal River on vacation last week. The river was so clear that even when it was 4 or 5 feet deep...you could see every little pebble on the bottom.
The beginning of the trip was very narrow and very winding. Irv laughed until he cried as I tried to get my bearings. I would crash into branches on one side, over compensate and crash into branches on the other side. I had to duck under things and put my paddle up to keep myself from smacking into other things while Irv paddled along gracefully behind me laughing his butt off.

It was actually a bit frustrating. Granted, we only kayak once a year, and we are normally on a big straight river where you don't have to worry about crashing into things...but I am pretty good at this and I was having a hell of a time.

Then I realized what the problem was. I just wasn't paying attention to the kayaking, because I was so in awe of the water and my surroundings. Once I reminded myself that I had to paddle and pay attention to the winding river, I was fine.

The website for Crystal River Outfitters didn't say that we were going to have to portage (carry our kayaks across roads) three times during our trip. We really try to avoid that when we kayak because Irv has a very bad hip, and it is very difficult for him to get in and out of the kayak to start and finish...much less three more times....but we managed and still had a wonderful time.

This dam was the reason for the first portage.

Irv just cruisin' along.....

Can you see how clear the water is in this picture? So beautiful. Our rivers here are muddy and pretty dirty for the most part. This was such a treat!

I think the best part of the trip was when Irv went around a bend and I hung back trying to take some pictures. It's hard taking pictures on a river. You want to stop, but the current keeps you moving. Anyway, I had pulled toward the shore to take a picture when I heard a big splash! I looked across to the other side and there was a deer leaping to and fro in the tall grass along the shore. It seems that Irv had pulled his kayak over to shore when he got around the bend, and startled the deer. He never got to see it, but I sure did. It was so awesome!






I had so many dragonflies hitch a ride on my bright yellow kayak. Every time I would try to grab my camera to take a picture, they would fly away. It took a while to get this shot. Most of them were this smaller black and blue variety.


The current zoomed me past this dead stump, but I managed to paddle myself back so I could get this picture. I thought it was so awesome!

At the beginning of our trip, we let this couple pass us. I really didn't want company on my journey and I really like to go slow and look for wildlife...so anyway...we let them pass. Toward the end of the trip we came upon them again. It seems at one of the portages, they attempted to pull out in the wrong spot. The husband tipped and got caught in a small whirlpool near a drainage pipe. He wasn't able to flip his kayak back over needless to say because it was filled with water, so he walked it the rest of the way.

When we met up with them, there were other kayakers and they helped him pull his kayak up onto a pier and tip it to get the water out. I talked to his wife and she said it was pretty scary. She said he seemed okay, but they were going to find a doctor to have him checked out. I felt so bad for them. Irv and I both noticed that when he was walking his kayak over to the pier he seemed very frightened when the water got deep....we are thinking maybe he didn't know how to swim. The river was probably 5 feet at it's deepest, but if you can't swim....even that would be terrifying.

The people at Crystal River Outfitters were just awesome. Such great service! They even had a nice little shop where I bought a darling little t-shirt type dress. They recommended the sandwich shop next door where we had fabulous subs...one of the best I've ever had.

I even bought a couple of stickers in their shop that say, "Life Is Good"....because it sure is!

For The Love of Nature

I couldn't wait to see some wildlife when we got to Telluride, so Matt said, "I'll take you to where we are sure to see some elk." I am one of those people that can sit and watch a deer grazing on the side of the road for hours. I am mesmerized by their beauty.

We headed out and on our way to the spot Matt had in mind we spotted six elk in a field next to someone's house. We stopped and watched them. Matt decided to get a little closer so we could get some pictures by driving down a road that said, "AUTHORIZED VEHICLES ONLY". The road ran right along side the field where the elk were grazing. I said, "Maybe we shouldn't." Matt said, "No one will care," and no one did...not even the guy in the truck coming toward us on the private road.

We stopped the car and rolled down the windows. I pulled out my camera and we sat silently watching a scene like none of us had ever witnessed before. See, we were thrilled with the six elk, but as we watched....out of the ravine they came....more and more and more elk. Big elk, baby elk...magnificent creatures each and every one!

The babies stayed close to their moms except one that pranced around in circle as though he/she was looking for attention. One baby nursed as it's mom grazed. Some of the elk wandered over toward our car. We knew they could hear us when we spoke and we knew they could smell us...but they seemed to know we meant no harm.

They continued to come up from the ravine. We snapped picture after picture because we couldn't believe what we were seeing.

A couple of times, one of them would lift it's head, let out a snort and in unison...all of their heads would come up. Once they knew everything was okay, they went back to their dinner.

We sat for a long time...watching....listening...we could hear them chewing...they were that close.

Dusk was upon us and it was time to leave. Matt did his best to count the herd and said he gave up at eighty! At least twenty of them were babies. It was one of the most awesome things I have ever seen.

We didn't get an opportunity to go back, but next time we visit Telluride...you can be sure we'll heading down that private road again!