Last evening a wild storm came through here at the head of a rare summer cold front. In my neighborhood that meant a beautiful full rainbow against the dark storm clouds to the east, and a wonderful morning in the 70s, something we might not see again for months. Several friends and I were able to take full advantage of the cool (relatively) temperatures and took our two sea kayaks and open canoe onto the Galveston Bay waters at Galveston Island State Park. This is the location of one of the newly-formed Texas Coastal Paddling Trails. I've paddled the area before but not since it was an "official" trail (see http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/boat/paddlingtrails/coastal/galvest on/ for more details about the trail). My friend Marilyn and I daringly (??) defied tradition in once again paddling an open canoe on the open water, both using kayak paddles, so we easily kept up with the more conventional sea kayaks paddled by Becky and Henny. We paddled about 5 miles before noon, stopping to enjoy a cohort of white ibises and pink roseate spoonbills taking in the scenery from, what else, a bird observation tower. They seemed to be enjoying it immensely for the better view of the silly humans bouncing around on the bay waters in kayaks and canoe. Brown pelicans weren't very bashful either, perched on the artificial geotextile tubes that function as breakwaters and research subjects for coastal erosion projects. There were quite a few kayakers and fishers out on the water, just lovely to be there and taking it all in. Wish you could have been there too. You'll have to give it a try some day. For a glimpse at the conditions and vicarious enjoyment, I have posted a few pictures at: http://community.webshots.com/album/563882340hCVkKn?vhost=community Natalie Wiest Galveston, Texas *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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