Canoeing at the Sturgeon Slough

A warm April afternoon with a couple of friends and Tundra Swans.

Heading up the Snake River from the canal.  Marja wasn't able to come so I was paddling my solo canoe.

It was a warm, lazy day so I didn't have to work very hard to keep up with Carl and Chris.

Paddling a canoe through a tight turn the bow paddler draws the bow into the turn while the stern paddler draws the stern outward.  The further we got up the river the more ice and snags we encountered.

Finally we hit a thick mat of duckweed.

Breaking through this mat felt like paddling in mud.

Evidently all the duckweed in the river had floated downstream once the river had opened up and had gotten dammed up behind a snag.  The mat had a sour smell and was pretty disgusting stuff.

An otter watched us on our return.

Marja and I returned a couple of days later and saw this gal near the landing.  I had never seen a moose in the Copper Country before,  but apparently there are a few around.

After awhile the breeze shifted to the East and I found I wasn't dressed warmly enough for that cold air coming off the big lake, so we headed back in.

 

At the landing the beavers put on a show for us.

Swimming back and forth...

...and slapping their tails as they submerged.

This guy just chilled on the bank for awhile.