Kayaking Down the Nisqually, 9/3/12

Brenda and I went kayaking down the Nisqually River today with three good friends: Esther, Paula, and Tammy.  We put in where we normally put in, by the train trestle at the end of 6th Ave SE off of Nisqually Road.

This is where we put in.  Salmon were running, so the river was filled with fishermen.  We had to run a gauntlet of fishing lines from both sides of the river.  The river was running a little high and fast, so I really didn't have a chance to take a photo until we were past most of the fishermen.

Here are Esther, Paula, and Brenda (from left to right).

Here are Tammy and Esther.

Here are Paula and Brenda.  You can see that it was pretty foggy and overcast this morning.

Brenda, Paula, and Esther

And there Brenda goes.  Down river you can see some fishermen in their boat.

Here's a good photo of Esther.

Close-up of Tammy

This is when we were getting close to the I-5 bridge.  On the right of the picture, you can see an old wooden wall.

Close-up of Brenda

Close-up of Paula with the wooden wall in the background.

Close-up of Tammy

I finally handed the camera over to Brenda.  At this point, we had just crossed under the I-5 bridge and were entering the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge.  

Another really good close-up of Tammy

These guys caught that fish as we were passing by and they let us take their picture with their catch... as if fishermen would ever say no to a picture of their catch.

There really were a lot of boats on the river today too.  We only took photos of a couple though.

Hi to you too Esther!

Tammy with the I-5 bridge in the background

Close-up of Jerry

Close-up of Paula

And I (Jerry) have the camera again.  Once I-5 is in the distance and you get into the heart of the wildlife refuge, it really is very peaceful.  I thought this was a nice view of the fog with the hills peeking through.

Close-up of Brenda and Esther

Paula and Tammy chatting and paddling

Another nice view

And again

 You figure since we're in a wildlife refuge, there should be wildlife.  Here is a heron.

Can you spot the bald eagle?

 How about here?

There were plenty of harbor seals about today.  With the salmon running, it's like a seal buffet.

I thought it was pretty cool getting a picture of Brenda with the seals in the background.

And Paula and Tammy.

 More of a close-up of the seals.  They are very skittish.  If you get too close, they're gone.

We're out on the Puget Sound now.  The poles you see in the background mark the limits of the wildlife refuge.

Another heron.

Another seal.

More seals.

The long paddle across the Sound to Luhr Beach, our destination. 

I (Jerry) am on the beach taking this photo.  Here's Tammy coming in.

And Tammy and Esther.  Brenda and Paula are waaaaay back there.

Group photo time!  Thanks to the timer on the camera.

Another timer photo.

And we finally got someone to take a real photo.

This was a tree at the boat ramp at Luhr Beach.  I was left with the kayaks while the ladies went to get the vehicles.  If you leave me with a camera, you're going to get a picture of something random, count on it.

Here's the route we took if anyone else would like to try it.