To Kayak or Not, Continued

We saw lots of creatures - turtles, lizards, toads, white tail deer, and more spiders than you can imagine.


There were so many spiderwebs blocking our way. You never knew when you'd walk right through them. We started using the walking sticks to clear our way. All in all we went about 4 miles up and down hills. The creek bed was totally dry as the area rainfall is way below normal. When we got back, everyone was hungry. We started the grill and licked our lips for some yummy burgers. My husband and I enjoyed a nice cold beer too. We were all settling down to catch up on some zzzzz's we missed the night before when my older son said that he had little bugs crawling all over him and they itched! Can you say heebie geebies? Guess what? We all had bugs on us. I could not believe it! Our youngest son got off the easiest. I, on the other hand, still feel like things are crawling all over me!!!! They were seed ticks. They were rampant. They were quite a challenge to get rid of. Let's just say, from that point on, we became best friends with the bug spray. The park interpreter said the seed ticks were all over. She was very nonchalant about it. The little critters are no bigger than the period at the end of this sentence. I think they should have had signs up all over warning about these little nuisances. I guess we are just "city" folk and aren't used to things like that. I am not sure what purpose in the food chain these guys serve. I know they made me appreciate my home sweet home even more!

We spent a few hours catching some football. The RV even had satellite. Our alma mater did not fare very well. We squeezed in a few games of Yahtzee! Two of the four of us ended up with yahtzees! I was NOT one of them. I could not roll a thing. It was fun, but not very lucky for me.

We recovered as much as possible from the bugs and got ready for the kayaking. We all wore long pants. You could smell our bug spray perfume if you got too close. We had our wake up call. We did not need a million mosquito bites too. I had never kayaked before. We had one tandem and two solos. I was a bit nervous. But, it was amazing!!!! It was the perfect time to be out on the lake. It is a man made lake with dead trees as obstacles. We saw Egret, lilly pads, beaver lodges, woodpecker, a nutria (a beaver looking animal with a rat tail), and beautiful scenery. My older son got the prize. As he was leading the way through the lilly pads, a fish jumped out of the water and hit his arm. He reacted moving the paddle and the fish flopped back into the lake. He remained his composure. I think I would have freaked out! He said that if it had landed in the kayak, he would have preserved it. The boys raced in at the end and my older son pulled it off by just a smidge. It was such a good time. I bet you can guess what has been added to the Christmas list!



When we got back to the RV, a friendly frog was waiting for us! We joined him outside for a campfire enjoying s'mores. The boys loved throwing sticks and leaves into the fire.

We got up this morning, packed it all up and returned home to our sanctuary. I have never enjoyed a shower more! The laundry is going strong washing all the clothes and linens in hot water.

The memory of those seed ticks will last with us for some time! Fortunately, the kayaking memories will win out. It is definitely something we will investigate. We don't know where we would do it around here. I'll keep my eyes open for a used one. Then, there is the challenge of transporting it or them. I am not sure that the four of us could only get away with one. I am so glad we tried it and have found something all of us enjoy!