rivers – Page 4 – The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

The Sonoma Coast and the Russian River

We wakened to a bit of fog this morning, but the rain had stopped and by 9 most of the fog was gone as well. Once again the weather was with us. Today we planned to kayak the Russian River, starting at Jenner on the ocean and paddling upstream with the tide until noon or so before turning with the tide and going back down to the ocean.

The route to Jenner along Highway 118 follows the river and passes the eclectic town of Guerneville along the way. The road is narrow and thick with trees, so dark that the street lights were still on at ten in the morning. We didn’t stop at Guerneville, in spite of the cute little shops there, the river was calling. Once at the launch site at the Sonoma Coast State Information Center our plans came to a screeching halt. The wind coming upriver from the ocean was cold and stiff, and I really didn’t want to spend my day cold and stiff as well.

Instead, we drove on north through Jenner, toward Fort Ross, a Russian settlement with an amazing history, and the magnificent views of the ocean along this part of Highway 1. The skies were clear and the ocean was gorgeous. We stopped for a hot cappuccino and a decadent muffin at the Timber Cove Lodge overlooking the bluffs. At Salt Point State Park we walked the trails out to the surf with Abby. Continuing north we checked out the state park campgrounds along the way. They were completely empty, and no wonder since there are no amenities except wild ocean, and the charge is a flat 35 dollars per night. Gerstle Cove campground was beautiful, with sites that were level enough to be manageable, but we would have to really want a view of the ocean to maneuver Highway 1 for all those miles to end up with something close to boondocking for 35 bucks. I don’t remember State Park fees in California being this high before. Maybe they have raised the rates to help out the bankrupt state, but if no one is in them, it isn’t going to help much. More photos of the Sonoma Coast are linked here.

When we got back to Jenner and the Russian River, the skies were still clear, and once inland at the Highway 1 bridge south, the winds seemed much calmer. We took the old dirt road on the south side of the river leading to Willow Creek State Park, closed to camping, but with a path leading to a wide rocky beach perfect for a river launch.

By the time we got on the river it was nearly 3, but that gave us enough time to paddle upriver about 2 miles before we turned back. The high tide was supposed to max out at 12:00 or so today, but it seems that sometimes the river mouth closes off and slows the outgoing tide. Paddling upstream was effortless, with calm still water and very little wind. Again, we saw cormorants and several kinds of ducks, and I watched a great egret fishing intently along a gravel bar.

The reflections of the surrounding hills on the silky water were mesmerizing. It turned out to be a perfect day of ocean and river and we got to do it all. More photos of the Russian River are linked here.

Perfect Day on Big River

It was a perfect day to go kayaking. Once again there was an eight foot high tide predicted for just after noon, giving us a good two hours before to paddle upstream, and another two hours to paddle back down with the ebbing tide. The launch site at Big River just east of the Mendocino Bay Bridge on Highway 1 is huge, with a boat ramp, but also with a broad sandy gentle beach perfect for us.

The weather was clear and crisp, if a bit cool. The current on the river was negligible, and with the incoming tide paddling upstream was easy. It was Abby’s first time out in the new kayak, and it was a perfect place for Mo to adjust to paddling with Abby while she learned to settle in to the bigger cockpit.

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On a Monday morning in November, we very nearly had the entire river to ourselves, with a single rower passing us going downstream, a lone kayaker going back downstream toward the beach, and a young couple paddling a large wooden outrigger canoe. The rest of the trip we were completely alone in the silence of the river and the surrounding redwood forest.

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We saw ducks, herons, cormorants, and on our way back to the mouth of the river, a group of seals. Reading about the trip in the Sea Kayaking book suggested a nice sandy beach about 3.5 miles upriver where we could take a break and get out of the boats. I think the combination of high river water and a very high tide completely obscured the beach, however, because we never found it. After a couple hours on the river, a bathroom break became somewhat of a necessity, so we improvised. In an area that looked just a bit less abrupt than the rest of the banks, we tied both boats up to a small stump and managed to crawl out of them from the deep water. Abby was glad for the break as well before we saw the tide turning and decided it was time to head back downstream.

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Paddling downriver at about 4mph was effortless until we were within less than a mile from the launch site where the winds picked up considerably. I didn’t get any photos of the big wind generated waves because I was busy paddling hard, and that last half mile was the hardest of the day. We had been warned of this, so it wasn’t unexpected and I’m glad it didn’t last any longer than it did.

On the beach once again, we easily loaded up the boats, but by then the wind was darn cold and we were definitely ready for a break. The tiny, incredibly picturesque town of Mendocino was just a stone’s throw from the launch, and we thought a good dose of fish and chips would be perfect. Many shops were open on this slow Monday afternoon,but open restaurants weren’t easy to find. A shopkeeper told us about Patterson’s Pub, suggesting they had the best food in town. She was right The pub was perfect, with an Irish theme, small warm and cozy, great beers on tap and truly wonderful food. I had a Bass from the tap, and Mo’s house Chardonnay was crisp and dry. Lobster bisque drizzled with very green virgin olive oil was a perfect beginning to fresh cod and sweet potato cross cut fries. Yum!!

Since daylight savings time ended it seems that it is way too dark at 6pm and settling in to a warm MoHo, cruising the blogs, and watching TV was a perfect way to end a great day.

More photos of our trip on the river are linked here.

September 18 Johnson Shut – ins

The rest of the photos for this day are linked here>

Heck of a name, right? I found this place on Google Earth, trying to locate a place to camp somewhere between Henderson and Joplin where we are going to visit my son tomorrow. Hot. Right now it is hot, about 90 degrees or so with 65 percent humidity. On a Saturday afternoon, we are sitting comfortably air conditioned in the MoHo, waiting for a bit of evening coolness before we take a bike ride around the campground.

When I picked this park, I had no idea what in the world the name meant, but after today, hiking the “shut-ins”, I now know it is a place where hard rock narrows the river to a wild canyon, eroded boulders forming plunge pools and natural slides just made for summer play. Even though it is September, the park was full of people playing in the river. We watched families cavorting among the rocks and watched a young boy, terrified and stranded high above a rushing torrent, slide down safely into his father’s arms.

Our hike on the Shut-ins trail, however, took us far from the noisy kids deep into the oak-hickory woods surrounding the Black River. It was hot, but still good to get out and walk 2.5 miles or so in an environment totally new to us. There were lots of lizards, no snakes, but turtles both in the water and on the trail. Occasionally there was a breeze, just a bit of coolness to blow away the gnats whirling around our faces. It was fun, really it was.

The visitor center here at the state park is new, only completed in 2005 after a break in the Taum Sauk dam sent 1.3 billion gallons of water raging through the park, scouring the landscape and destroying everything in it’s path. The Black River Center is constructed from stone and wood and houses truly interesting and informative exhibits about the park geology, vegetation, animals, and the history of the flood. More than 1.5 billion years of geologic history is exposed here, including several varieties of rhyolites from volcanic activity. I am from an area of recent volcanic activity in the west, with no idea that volcanic rocks existed anywhere in this part of the world.

I took advantage of the free backpacks that the center allows campers to check out, and mine was a “tree” backpack, with several tree identification books, magnifiers, a couple of pair of binoculars, kerchiefs, and coloring crayons, of all things. The flip chart hardwood tree identifier was perfect and I managed to identify a few trees at least.

As the evening comes, the sky is clear of clouds but still a bit murky, whether from haze or humidity, I can’t tell. Because we didn’t have a reservation, our site is in the equestrian portion of the park, used for overflow camping, and we have a large area to tie our horses, and a manure pit across the road. May sound a bit strange, but it does give us a very open space to camp, with a night sky that is pitch black except for the stars.

September 17 Henderson KY to Johnson Shut-ins, MO

I only took a few photos today, they are posted here.

Today was a traveling day, leaving Indiana, crossing the Ohio River into Illinois, and the Mississippi River into Missouri. Again we took the side roads, but navigation in Illinois is considerably better than Ohio. The skies were clear, with full sunshine most of the day, but the haze on the horizon belied the humidity of the landscape we crossed. We stopped for a break in a small town along the route, and enjoyed the Midwest country crafts in the booths before continuing. I bought a great gourd painted like a witch to add to my Halloween stash.

As we approached the Mississippi Valley, the fields broadened, and wide terraces planted with soybeans ripened in the late summer sun. In the midst of navigating, I checked out the SoilWeb app on the phone and discovered the Drury soil series, mapped all along these river terraces. Just about every soil scientist who has mapped soils will know Drury, it’s a soil often used to define soil development in big river systems.

The landscape changed almost immediately when we entered Missouri, broad valleys breaking into the complex hills and winding roads of the Ozarks. The heat was increasing with each mile, and by the time we reached Johnson Shut-ins State Park it was 94 degrees and the humidity was high. With the park completely reserved for the weekend, the attendant sent us to the equestrian area, lots of space, no shade, but water and electric. Good enough for a hot day! Setup, turn on the air conditioner, and watch a movie!

Late evening was cooler, and we went for a bike ride to explore the campground before settling in. You haven’t heard night songs until you have heard the bugs in the Missouri woods. I recognized the crickets, but all the other deafening sounds were who knows what. It was perfectly dark and the moon is just about half full. With the windows opened, the air conditioner off, and the Fantastic Fan going full blast we slept just great.

The rest of the photos for this day are linked here>

September 16 Audubon State Park, Kentucky and Evansville, Indiana

I walked in a hardwood forest today that measured up to my imaginations. One of my dreams for this trip was to experience the thick green life of a hardwood forest up close. I thought that would happen in Minnesota, or maybe New York, but instead it happened here in Kentucky, on the banks of the Ohio River. The John James Audubon State Park in Henderson has several hundred acres of climax hardwoods, some more than 200 years old. The major trees are beeches, sugar maples, basswood, several varieties of oaks, tuliptree, catalpa, huge sycamores, ash, elm, and the Kentucky coffeetree.There are 61 varieties of trees here, including some rare species.

The museum was built by the CCC, another incredibly fine example craftsmanship and art. It houses the greatest number of original Audubon paintings of any museum in the world. There are original intact copies of all four volumes of the Birds of America, published in 1837. What I didn’t know until today is that these books are nearly 3 feet tall, in order to represent the birds at life size. In addition to the art, the museum had artifacts of his life and the displays told the story of his life work, his children, his devoted wife, his connections with people in power in the early 19th century. It is a fascinating story. You cannot imagine the incredible detail and beauty of an original Audubon painting without seeing it.

When we pulled into the state park campground last night, we were a bit disappointed. It seemed too close to the highway, too open, and a bit tattered. I had seen the park on Google Earth and was expecting something different, I guess. The night was warm and humid and when we went for a walk the sounds of crickets and other bugs was almost deafening. We slept well, though, and this morning our explorations of the museum and the rest of this gorgeous state park, which includes hiking trails, two small lakes, and a golf course, more than made up for the deficiencies of the campground.

This afternoon was warm and humid again, but not at all uncomfortable, and we drove back across the Ohio River to Evansville, just a few minutes north of our camping location here in Kentucky. Evansville has a thriving historic district, and we drove the streets ooohing and aaahing at every corner as more and more huge old homes came into view. I did wonder just how many photos I could take of these houses, but they are irresistible. We ended the day with a long walk along the greenbelt, a beautiful parkway punctuated with art and walkways, memorials, and bronze plaques detailing the long storied history of this river town.

Lewis and Clark passed by here on their voyage to the Pacific Ocean, and John Wesley Powell rowed past this town when he paddled the full length of the Ohio River before he became a geology professor and then later explored the Colorado River. Hardwoods and history. Our days have been filled with both in a part of our country that I never have experienced before this trip.

We talked about our last cross country trip, and how different this seemed to be. Somehow that trip, while interesting and wonderful, didn’t pass through landscapes that were so new to us. Texas still felt like the West, and I had been in Florida so the south wasn’t completely new to me either. Somehow this world, all the way from Eastern North Dakota, through the north country of the UP, to these woods of Kentucky, somehow they feel brand new. These are landscapes I have read about in the history books, in Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer. I’m glad for the chance to follow this river, the heartstream of a huge part of our country.

The rest of the photos for this day are linked here.