danger on the high seas!!

(ok Abiquiu Lake....)

but real danger...

this is the lake the last time we went out

the put in at the boat ramp

it's smooth sailing in the morning

find a good spot to put out

make a little shelter from the sun

and head home before the storms come in

WELL

yesterday we saw the storm clouds over

the mountains to the west

pretty standard not a worry

then we heard thunder behind us to the east

holy crap - a squall was right on us

we started packing up furiously

we heard some

lapping waves on the kayaks 

but just thought they were the wakes from

the powerboats going by

when we turned to look the lake had whipped itself up

into 2 feet waves, 2 feet apart

there was NO way I was going out in that

we were miles from the boat ramp

we would have been swamped in a second

and it was a good thing that we were slow to leave

or we would have been out in the water when it came up and capsized for sure

(this is not my photo - I didn't have my camera - but the waves

were way worse than this, trust me.....)

SO

I just knew I could not go back in to the water

squall after squall was coming

even if we could start out between storms

one could hit us while we were out there

there was a mountain behind us and we were losing daylight 

and I did not want to spend the night out there that was for sure

no,we would have to walk out

I would rather take my chances on land

though I was worried we would not find the way out as

we were not sure where we were

still we dragged the boats up the hill and stashed them

behind some large willow bushes,

pushed everything we did not take with us

far up into the boat and turned them upside down

looking back down at them as we started up the hill

we had to walk up and around several arms of the lake as we went inland

at the end of one of the large arms 

we finally we saw a road in the distance

and a possible way to get to it and relaxed a little

this is canyon county - you can't walk straight to anything

( again not my photo but it sort of shows the sides of the reservoir 

it was a long walk to the main highway

oh yeah, in the rain, thunder and lighening

thankfully

the first vehicle picks us up

tentatively - we looked like crap

and yet drove us all the way to the boat ramp where our car was

when he heard the story

and we regretfully had to just drive home

knowing that early the next morning we had to go get our boats and gear

if they were still there

I am happy to report that early this morning

we walked back down the road 

(we could not drive down the road as it was private with a big gate

at the highway)

and across the ridges and down to the kayaks

that were undisturbed - except for some ants who found the empty cookie container

(I checked the whole boat for snakes first....)

then we dragged the boats back down to the water and headed out

for the boat ramp

it was early and the lake was calm

but now that I have seen it in its raging glory

I am not likely to forget

****************

of interest in August

so I guess the only thing they are sheltering

is taxes

so the thing about this for me is

that they are clearly saying

I have come for a photo op and not to help

you don't wear khakis and heels expecting to get your hands dirty

or your feet wet

the Pacific Northwest is on fire

over 100 years of managed industrial forests are to blame

millions of acres of the same age tree, the same species

bad logging practices causing the soil to wash away

and weakening the trees............

ok I will stop now

she had been a inspiration to me many times

I am sad to hear of her passing

but we should all be so lucky as to live to 90

with a smile!

this is the kind of shit that scares me.....

and as Obama once said

still alive to tell the tale....

xxoo