Sunday, June 7, 2015

Picnic and a Paddle at Ferris

After struggling with the lawn tractor yesterday afternoon (the lyric: "One wheel's off and the axle's broken" came to mind) we decided we should end the day with a relaxing picnic and paddle. We packed up the gear, some food and the kids and we were off.

We headed to the park and made our way to the boat launch where there was a picnic table  right by the water. It was a perfect spot for a BBQ then to launch the canoe for a paddle. Once every thing was set up I turned on the propane and heard hissing coming out of the tank. It turns out the O-ring on the hose was missing. Luckily I had some bits of lumber in the van. We made our way to a nearby campsite and cooked up some wieners and s'mores. It was a great night for a picnic. Watching an osprey feed it's young while we were eating was certainly a highlight.

It was while we were eating that I pulled out the camera and realized that the memory card was in the computer at home. I had also left my phone at home on purpose since the only thing I could imagine needing it for was taking pictures. Who needs an old camera phone when you've got a DSLR right?

Approaching the suspension bridge from the south
After eating and playing at the park for a bit we made our way down to the water and put the canoe in the water. It was a perfect night for a paddle. We paddled upstream toward the suspension bridge. The current was unnoticeable at first but as we approached the generating station it was clear that we had to work a little harder. It was still very manageable.  It was cool seeing the bridge from below. The picture would have been great. We paddled under the bridge and made our way up to the falls.

Ranney Falls 
We paddled under the overhanging rock where the falls would be raging in the spring and got close enough to the portion that is flowing to get sprayed.

Under the Overhang
Time for a Shower
It was a hoot. We saw a lot of small fish swimming in the rocky waters just below the falls. The paddle back was leisurely with the current pushing towards our destination.

The kids loved playing at the park while we packed everything up and got the canoe tied on the van.

We will certainly go back and get all of the pictures we missed so that we can post them here.

Edit: We went back the next day for more fun and some photos this time. We also had time to cross the bridge.
A Turtle, Spotted From the Bridge