The sixth annual Glow Paddle once again lit up the waters of Lake Natoma last weekend. It was not ordinary kayaking or paddle boarding experience as well over 30 watercrafts, decorated with a myriad of colorful lights and glowsticks, paddled along the lakeshore at dusk and then in the dark.
The premise of the event was simple. Participants brought their own kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, boats, or inflatables to Lake Natoma's Black Miners Bar within Folsom Lake State Recreation Area and lit them up like Christmas trees. The glowing fleet then launched onto the lake and waited for the sunset to light up the night.
Experiencing nature and the lake in the dark was only enhanced by the nearly full moon as lit-up paddlers journeyed up to Folsom Rainbow Bridge on still waters. It was a truly magical sight to see all the boats on the water.
A traditional informal event, the Glow Paddle was made up of several paddling groups and was a fun and free activity.
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Paddlers taking part in the 4th annual Glow Paddle gleamed in the darkness on California State Park's Lake Natoma last weekend as they illuminated their canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards with colorful lights and decorations during the yearly paddle. "It was a blast," said John Taylor, a paddler with Bayside Adventures Sports, an active Sacramento faith-based outdoor group, "All the boats were lit up so well. Hats off to all for making this happen."
For the past three years, the unofficial Glow Paddle has been held in conjunction with the Folsom Parks & Recreation Department's annual Glow Event. The walk/ run is a family-friendly, non-competitive run/walk for all ages where participants dressed up in costumes that glowed, blinked, sparked, and shined along the route. The neon shining walkers and runners decked out with glow sticks, glow glasses, glow necklaces lit up the trail from Folsom's Historic District, across the walk bridge over Lake Natoma, through the Negro Bar unit of the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area, and back again.
Paddler Pearli Van used Facebook to ignited the first Glow Paddle event on Lake Natoma. That year, only a few paddlers were flickering under the walk bridge to cheer on the walkers when they passed by. The next two Glow Paddles glimmered even brighter as more paddling groups became involved. But when the Covid-19 pandemic doused the official Glow Event, that did not stop paddlers like Tim Senechal from generating the power to keep it going. "This year there was no Folsom glow run to accompany it, but that didn’t stop us!" wrote Senechal on Facebook.
Photo Courtesy of Kassie Lee
Over 100 paddlers took part in the event, many from area paddling groups while other paddlers just came out after hearing about the event on social media. During the Glow Paddle, organizers stressed social distancing at the access at the Negro Bar boat ramp, along with wearing a PFD and following all state recreation area rules.
"So I was one of the jealous folks on the old bridge who had no clue you all existed until now," wrote Kassie Lee in a Facebook post, "Next time my SUP and I will be ready. Thanks for the pleasant surprise to my family's night out. The kids loved the lights. "This event," wrote Senechal on a Facebook post, "Which started out with about 12 kayaks a few years ago, grew to over 100 kayakers tonight. This was no organized event. Just word of mouth through a few Facebook groups. Pretty amazing!"
Keep up with Outside Adventure to the Max, on our Facebook page and Instagram and now on Youtube.
Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free. ’tis the gift to come down where you ought to be. --- Traditional Shaker
There's no season for me, that gathers up more feelings of nostalgia than autumn. The sound of brown crisp leaves crunching underfoot, the taste of apples and pumpkins doused with sugar and cinnamon and the spectacular sight of migrating geese heading south before winter. It's always a thanksgiving of memories and reflection for me.
I got that same sentimental feeling when I was watching naturalist and canoe guru Bill Mason's 1984 semi-autobiographical documentary, Waterwalker, this past week.
Photos courtesy of the Mason family
In the film, Mason guides us in his canoe along the rugged coast of Lake Superior and on some of Ontario's exciting rushing rivers and through its peaceful meadowland lakes. All the way, he paints, camps, and tells us stories about his love of canoeing in the Canadian wilderness. En route, we escape into his paddling world of beautiful scenery and wilderness pleasures, as he teaches us to reflect poignantly on nature and the history of land's native people.
"There is no wolf attack, I don't get ravaged by wild mountain men or robbed by bandits," Mason tells us in Waterwalker, "In fact, there are no bad guys at all. Just you and me paddling the biggest and most spectacular lake in the world... Lake Superior."
Long before the days of high definition, drones, and special effects, Mason's films now have a nostalgic feel to them. Using a 16-mm film, he blended the natural sound of birds chirping, waves crashing and rushing water to enrapture us into the scene. To bring us in closer, he developed a pre-GoPro perspective to get the shot, using a motorcycle helmet and wood from a hockey sticks to create a helmet cam. It was not lightweight by today's standards and could only shoot a maximum of 90 seconds before the film ran out. There is a story, that Mason almost drowned the first time he jumped in the water with it on. From then on they say, he used several extra PFDs to provide enough flotation for him and the camera to stay afloat.
"It is a testament to his creative genius that at a time of mass online media," wrote Conor Mihell, in a tribute to Mason in Canoe & Kayak Magazine, "Mason's canon of films remain relevant and entertaining on the 30th anniversary of his death, on October 29, 1988."
In Waterwalker, Mason quipped us along about being an artist who loves to canoe or a canoeist who loves to create. His passion for both was poured out freely, all the while encouraging us as Mihell wrote of him, to explore the real world—a dynamic, wondrous and beautiful place of wild rivers and freshwater seas, to be traced slowly, joyously and thoughtfully by canoe.
"I love his simple joy of building a relationship to the world with a canoe, " wrote James Raffan offering Mason more accolades in Paddling Magazine, "Bill didn't really care whether you did this stroke of that stroke in this or that circumstance. Going into nature was the most important thing. How you got there in your canoe was incidental."
I thought about Mason the last time I paddled on Lake Natoma. It was easy too, after a chance meeting with John Weed. A local paddling legend in Northern California, it's obvious Weed and Mason were cut from the same cloth.
John Weed
Like Mason, Weed is somewhat of a mystical spirit. A long-time instructor and guide for Current Adventures Kayak School & Trips he has been known to go on solo trips to Mexican Baja coast for months at a time always bringing back stories wild tales of surviving sudden storms, dodging drug smugglers and meeting great friends along the way.
"When you paddle with others, you can immerse yourself in nature." Weed was quoted as saying, "When you paddle solo, you are nature."
Always a great paddling companion, on my recent trip to the lake, Weed told me stories of growing up inside the walls of Folsom prison as we paddled up past the Rainbow Bridge near the prison. His dad was the prison's chaplain in a time when many of the prison's employees and their families would live on its grounds and the only way to get to the river then was to stage a prison break.
"It was maximum security then," laughed Weed as we angled around the curve in the river where we could see the prison's tower and stone walls, "Every day at 4:00 PM they would blow a whistle that would send everyone back for lockdown. But for me, that would single that it was time to jump the wall and come down here to go fishing."
And ever since, Weed, just like did Mason has followed the well-worn path to the water. As Mason said, “A journey by canoe along ancient waterways, is a good way to rediscover our lost relationship with the natural world and the Creator who put it together so long ago.”
This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for all those like Bill Mason and John Weed for showing us that pathway to the water.
Canada's greatest canoe legend lives on YouTube. Check out Bill Mason's film Waterwalker as it continues to inspire an all-new generation of paddlers.
Pledge to help California State Parks on #GivingTuesday
This Tuesday, November 27, join people around the globe in support of the causes you love like supporting our state parks for #GivingTuesday. Last year, millions of gifts were made to nonprofits on #GivingTuesday and hundreds of generous park lovers like you chose to donate in honor of our state parks.
This year, we’re counting on you to help us meet our goal of raising $75,000 and making it our biggest #GivingTuesday yet! Get ready to celebrate this global day of giving to the California State Parks Foundation.
I've lost count of how many times I have passed under Folsom's prominent Rainbow Bridge. The bridge is a historic landmark of the area. Built in 1917, the bridge crosses over the upper end of Lake Natoma and the American River. A 208-foot long concrete arch spans the rocky ledges of the canyon to help give the bridge it's fabled name. Photographed and painted time and time again the bridge is truly a magnificent sight.
I can remember last year when it loomed before me as I paddled up the lake. Before I had moved to California, I had only seen it in pictures. As I paddled under it, I felt a thrill in pushing against the current and past the silent monument. It was my welcome to Californian kayaking.
It is routine now. Lake Natoma is my home lake. I have kayaked it so much and so often that I could probably name the geese. Like all home lakes, I still find it beautiful and fun to paddle around. I enjoy the quietness of its sloughs and the loftiness of its high banks. I love that the water is just minutes from my home. But that's where I have taken the lake for granted. I'm used to visiting it day after day.
Great days fade into the next when I'm out kayaking alone. Sure, I have soloing days that are special. But, the lasting and great memories come from paddling with my wife. I love to watch her glide across the water. As an artist, she delights in changing colors of sky and water while making paintings in her mind. She will frown and voice disgust when a loud radio vanquishes the peaceful solitude of the lake. This is her moment to enjoy what God has painted before her eyes.
I paddle behind trying to keep up, while she reveals to me the wonders of the water. This is the first place we kayaked together when I came to visit her before we were married. We had rented a bulky tandem sit on top and paddled together across the lake through the sloughs. It was a cool day and we had the lake to ourselves. We toured through the marsh enjoying the trees, birds and each others company. Now, every time I pass through those sloughs I remember that day. Every time. It will always be one of my best memories of the lake.
Debbie and I shared a sunset paddle the other day. Nothing exemplary, we are heading into fall and the sun is setting faster each night. We had to race back now before the sun slammed into the horizon. A fleeting golden reflection illuminated the water and silhouetted Debbie and her kayak. The rainbow bridge is close and beaming in the setting sun.
We will leave no lasting imprint. Water has no memory. However, sharing it with each other will always make each visit to the lake standout.
This article was originally published in Outside Adventure to the Max September 19, 2014
A bald eagle soaks its talons in Lake Natoma near the Folsom Avenue Bridge and the Rainbow Bridge.
I had heard about eagle sightings on my neighborhood lake since last spring. According to news reports and the local talk along Lake Natoma, two bald eagles had been wowing bird watchers and nature-loving photographers since last May. I had often combed the skies, searching for these white-headed raptors while out kayaking without much luck. I was more likely to see geese and turkey vulture on my outings on the water than anything else.
Eagles have been making comeback for past several decades across the country, since the banning of the agricultural spray DDT. The pesticide, linked to damaging environmental impacts and harmful health effects caused eggshell thinning and population declines in multiple North American bird of prey species. Today, nineteen nests have been tallied in eight San Francisco Bay Area counties, including at Stanford University, a mall and a water park, The Mercury News in San Jose reported this week, while experts say bald eagles have been spotted around Folsom Lake at least back to the mid-1990s.
“Lake Natoma could be a relatively new thing,” Capt. Mark Jeter, a warden with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, told the Sacramento Bee in May 2016 interview, “The species is doing very well throughout the continent. They are expanding into areas where they have not been in a long time.”
I was paddling back to the boat ramp through the slough across from Negro Bar when I saw the bird perched on a rock in shallow water. Up until then, the highlights of the trip had been paddling through a little stretch of whitewater under the Rainbow Bridge and seeing four river otters pop up their heads up out of the water. Seeing the eagle was an uncommon and amazing sight. With my back to the sun, I inched my kayak closer and closer to the bathing eagle.
An eagle conveys a message across all cultures. The Native Americans saw the eagle as a symbol of great strength, leadership and vision, while early Christians saw it as a symbol of hope and salvation. The eagle has been used as a 'banner' throughout history by the great empires of Egypt, Rome and even the United States. It is said, the eagle is man's connection to the divine because it flies higher than any other bird.
“An eagle soaring above a sheer cliff, where I suppose its nest is," said naturalist John Muir, "Makes another striking show of life, and helps to bring to mind the other people of the so-called solitude."
It was enjoying the life as a waterfowl I supposed as it balanced there on the lake rock with its feathers dripping from its bath. I have often mused how I would rather be a loon than an eagle. Yes, eagles soar, but aquatic birds fly and swim, it's the best of both worlds.
The raptor's white head and eyes glistened in the late afternoon sunshine as I anchored my kayak in the shallow rocking bottom of the lake. I held my breath almost every time I raised my waterproof pocket camera to take a photo of the bird. We sat there frozen for several minutes. Seemingly at one with the water and nature around us. Then in a moment, it stretched in giant wings skyward, lifting its talons out of the water, hovering over it by inches till gliding upward towards the safety of the trees.
This week the usually calm waters of Lake Natoma under the Rainbow Bridge are a boil.
In Northern California, we have been riding the "atmospheric river" since last weekend. For boaters, it's a Class 5 like a waterfall that has swelled the state's rivers, flooded neighborhoods, and vineyards, all while dumping snow and rain on the Sierra Nevada Mountains and causing mudslides on hills scorched by summer's wildfires.
An atmospheric river is long and narrow bands of water vapor that form over an ocean and flow through the sky. Massive quantities of Pacific Ocean water
from as far away as Hawaii have pummeled California with a series of storms like a long blast from a fire hose.
Blizzard conditions forced road closures to many of Lake Tahoe's ski resorts that had to shut down and dig-out after being buried in snow. Nine feet fell in over three days at Kirkwood Mountain Resort in California making it the snowiest January in 45 years. Most of the ski resorts it looks like will try to open at least some terrain this weekend.
The Yuba River rose again to a little over 85 feet in Marysville California, while the South Fork of the American River are creating “once-in-a-decade” conditions on the American River for expert kayakers like Dylan Nichols. “We don’t have the option to run it this high maybe but once in a decade," Nichols told ABC10, "So it’s special for us local paddlers to be able to come out and take advantage of it,” Nichols and other expert kayakers paddled on the river from Chili Bar Park in Placerville California to where the water pours into Folsom Reservoir. He estimated the flow at 20,000 cubic feet per second, compared to a normal pace of anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 cubic feet per second.
South Yuba River at Highway 49. Photo by Rich Shipley via Facebook
“It’s extremely unusual conditions,” professional kayaker Isidro Soberanes told ABC10, “It gives me the opportunity to experience a river I know really well at extremely high, high levels. Basically, I’m expecting to paddle some of the biggest rapids I’ve paddled in California.”
Folsom Lake continues to rise with the week's rains, as water managers releasing even more water downstream. Early this week the lake's water level stood at 422 feet elevation rising 13.5 feet higher than what it was 5 hours earlier. As the lake becoming fuller, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation opened five floodgates at Folsom Dam and 18 gates at Nimbus Dam releasing the water downstream.
Due to releases and rain, the usual peaceful waters of Lake Natoma under Folsom's Rainbow Bridge became a violent torrent at the entrance to the lake. While downstream large sections of the American River Parkway and several popular Sacramento County parks were closed earlier this week after days of rainfall and heavy releases from reservoirs flooded recreation areas around the region.
The Jim Jones footbridge, one parkway’s biggest popular attractions for boaters, fishermen and summertime rafters at the Sunrise Recreation Area, remains underwater this week as the American River gushes over it. Meanwhile, much of the western half of the parkway, Discovery Park to about Watt Avenue, also will remain inaccessible for the time being due to flood waters.
While most atmospheric river events are weak. But the powerful ones like the one that just targeted California this week, can transport an amount of water vapor equal to 15 times the average flow of water that flows out of the Mississippi River's mouth, according to NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory. This drenching is good news that might help bring a dramatic turnaround for the state's water supply after more than five years of drought.
The path of the paddle can be a means of getting things back to their original perspective. – Bill Mason,Path of the Paddle
It was a quiet morning on Lake Natoma earlier last week. A slight breeze passed over the water, causing barely a ripple. I could feel its coolness coming off the water and in the shade of the trees. It was a welcome relief from the daytime heat that usually blasts this valley.
I had beaten the rush. The parking lot of the Negro Bar access was still empty along with the rest of the lake. The usual array of Huki boats, sit-on-tops and fishermen had yet to arrive and the lake was pretty much mine for my own adventure.
I wasn't lost in the wilds of the BWCA or Desolation Wilderness. I was only a couple of miles from home and could hear the hum of traffic buzzing over the Folsom Avenue Bridge. But, I might as well have been. Because with each muffled stroke of my paddle, I slipped further away into nature's domain.
Environmentalist and wilderness guide, Sigrud Olsen said 'There is magic in the feel of a paddle and the movement of a canoe, a magic compounded of distance, adventure, solitude, and peace. The way of a canoe is the way of the wilderness, and of a freedom almost forgotten."'
Alone in my thoughts and on the water, I felt a certain exuberance in this calm of tranquility. On a simple morning cruise around my neighborhood lake, I felt that same deliverance and enchantment that Olsen pontificated about his beloved northern lakes and forested wilderness. I was minutes from the freeways, gas stations and fast food restaurants, yet the lake was still home to things wild. Ducks, geese, beaver, and deer find the same sanctuary that I do near its waters.
It was an effortless paddle for me, through and around the slough of the lake. The lake level has been a bit higher in the past few weeks making it an easy way to navigate through the tiny rocky islands without scraping the bottom of the kayak. In the stillness, I brushed past the prickly blackberry bushes tangled up against the water. The berries hang over the water like gaudy ornaments. They were a lush tempting red, far from being ripe enough to pick and very tart to the taste. The black ripened juicy ones are few and out of reach.
Up near the Rainbow Bridge, the river has joined the lake. The cold water released from Folsom Dam only runs a short way as the American River before being captured again by the Nimbus Dam, creating the lake. I felt the slight tug of the current and hear the gentle sound of water flowing over the rocks. I marveled at the three-story canyon walls embracing the narrow river on both sides. Further up the Folsom Prison cable sign lets me go no farther. I put my kayak into the current and felt it turn me back downstream.
Over the Bow is a feature from Outside Adventure to the Max, telling the story behind the image. If you have a great picture with a great story, submit it to us at nickayak@gmail.com
My talented wife Debbie Klenzman Carlson owner of Progressive Portraits made some impressive images me kayaking Lake Natoma under the Rainbow Bridge in Folsom.
Share your travel stories and images with us at Outside Adventure to the Max. We are always looking for guest bloggers and their pictures. Check us out on Facebook.
Rivers are the primal highways of life. From the crack of time, they had borne men's dreams, and in their lovely rush to elsewhere, fed our wanderlust, mimicked our arteries, and charmed our imaginations in a way the static pond or vast and savage ocean never could. ---Tom Robbins
Sometimes I'm just at a loss for words to describe the joy I have for kayaking along on a lake, a river and now the ocean. I got into boating roughly five years ago this month and haven't looked back. Each day on the water fades into a dream only a picture can tell. Bright days, cloudy days and moonlit nights have been chronicled in my photographs of my paddling adventures. Here are a few of my favorite images from this year so far.
Lake Natoma
Paddle Pushers on Lake Natoma
Moonlight Paddle on Lake Natoma
Lower American River
Rollins Lake
Folsom Lake
Folsom lake
Folsom Lake
North of the American River
San Francisco Bay
We are always looking for guest bloggers to share their adventures stories and pictures. Keep up with Outside Adventure to the Max on our Facebook page.
This Outside Adventure to the Max comes with an all new video blog. The accompanying story was first published September 19, 2014.
I've lost count on how many times I have passed under Folsom's
prominent Rainbow Bridge. The bridge is a historic landmark of the area.
Built in 1917, the bridge crosses over the upper end of Lake Natoma and
the American River. A 208 foot long concrete arch spans the rocky ledges
of the canyon to help give the bridge it's fabled name. Photographed
and painted time and time again the bridge is truly a magnificent
sight.
I can remember last year when it loomed before
me as I paddled up the lake. Before I had moved to California, I had
only seen it in pictures. As I paddled under it, I felt a thrill in
pushing against the
current and past the silent monument. It was my welcome to Californian
kayaking.
It is routine now. Lake Natoma
is my home lake. I have kayaked it so much and so often that I could
probably name the geese. Like all home lakes, I still find it beautiful
and fun to paddle around. I enjoy the quietness of its sloughs and the
loftiness of its high banks. I love that the water is just
minutes from my home. But that's where I have taken the lake for granted. I'm used to visiting it day after day.
Great days fade in to the next, when I'm out kayaking alone. Sure, I have soloing days that are special. But, the
lasting and great memories come from paddling with my wife. I love to
watch her glide across the water. As an artist, she delights in changing
colors of sky and water while making paintings in her mind. She will
frown and voice disgust when a loud radio vanquishes the peaceful
solitude of the lake. This is her moment to enjoy what God has painted before her eyes.
I paddle behind trying to keep up, while she reveals to me the wonders of the water. This
is the first place we kayaked
together when I came to visit her before we were married. We had rented a
bulky tandem
sit on top and paddled together across the lake through the sloughs. It
was a cool day and we had the lake to ourselves. We toured through the
marsh enjoying the trees, birds and each others company. Now, every time
I pass through those sloughs I remember that
day. Every time. It will always be one of my best memories of lake.
Debbie
and I shared a sunset paddle the other day. Nothing exemplary, we are
heading into fall and the sun is setting faster each night.
We had to race back now, before the sun slammed into the horizon. A
fleeting golden reflection illuminated the water and silhouetted Debbie
and her kayak. The rainbow bridge is close by beaming in the setting sun.
We
will leave no lasting imprint. Water has no memory. However, sharing it
with each other will always make each visit to the lake stand out.
The Mississippi River and downtown St Paul, Minnesota.
There is a whirl of activity at Hidden Falls Park in St. Paul, Minnesota. Shuttle buses are coming and going. Kayaks and canoes are being unloaded and carried to the grassy staging area next to the river. Numbers are have been assigned, pictures are being taken, while water, apples and granola bars are packed into the boats. It is the annual Migthyssippi River Adventure Race day on the Mississippi River. Over a 100 hundred paddlers have signed up for the 14-mile charity event through the Twin Cities. The paddler's instructions on the river are easy: Be Safe, stay to the right of the river when traveling downstream. Avoid all boats and barges and have fun.
A countdown from the loudspeakers and soon the river is filled with kayaks and canoes of every color and size. Before long the paddlers spread out going past Fort Snelling State Park and the skyline of St Paul giving each one their own perspective of the famous river. At times it is gritty and industrial, but also offers an oasis of nature in the heart of city dwellings.
Most paddlers feel like they are discovering it for the first time. They are surprised that an urban river can contain so much beauty and nature. It happens all the time for urban paddlers. The waterways thought to be dirty and polluted are found clean, inviting and full of wildlife. On the Red River between Fargo and Moorhead, I have seen deer, beaver and even a bald eagle along the bends of the rivers just blocks away from downtown. River otters splash and hide in the rocks underneath the Rainbow Bridge over Lake Natoma and the American River, while farther down Californian quail, deer, and Canadian geese find a haven in the sloughs.
The American River Parkway
On the river urban views are blocked by trees. The only reminder that one is even close to civilization is going to the cities train and highway bridges. The buzz of traffic echoes off the water giving us the only clue we are close to home. In some places, we go back in time past turn of the century mills and remnants. Along the Red River on the Moorhead side, I can still find broken bottles from the prohibition days when North Dakota was dry and Minnesota taverns were right on the river. On the American River, huge piles of dredge tailings are still visible from gold mining days. The waterways are no longer highways or dumping grounds and the rivers have now reclaimed their banks.
Paddling in downtown Fargo, North Dakota.
Canoeist Natalie Warren founder of the outdoor education nonprofit Wild River Academy has trekked the waterways across the country to observe how rivers are promoted in their communities. In a recent interview with Canoe & Kayak Magazine said, "When I paddled urban rivers from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay and from Minnesota down to the Gulf of Mexico, I realized that our local water trails have their own beauty and, even more, provide a classroom to learn how our country uses rivers. My experiences on wild and urban rivers inspired me to speak about building a culture around urban paddling, diversifying the paddling community, and increasing recreation, positively impacting all aspects of society."
Natalie Warren left and Ann Raiho in Fargo, N.D., during the 2011 Minneapolis to Hudson Bay Trip
Warren's goal is to increase recreation through the public waterways in river towns with the addition outfitters, hiking and bike paths, restaurants and interpretive centers, campgrounds and most important access to the water.
"I hope to highlight the positive ripple effects of opening up to the river and prioritizing water trails to improve recreation and trails, tourism and economies, and increased environmental education and ecosystem health. It all starts with a paddle in the water. Every time you paddle locally you are partaking in a larger movement for the betterment of communities, ecosystems, and the future of river-town economies."
Paddlers taking part in the Mightyssippi River Adventure finished the day under the Interstate 94 bridge, 14 miles downstream. They came away with sore muscles and smiles with this annual day on the Mississippi. Of course for some, this experience is only a warm up to their annual Boundary Waters trip or lifelong dream of going down the Grand Canyon. However, paddling locally and exploring their neighborhood water trail gave them a low-cost view of the river, right in their own backyard.
I've lost count of how many times I have passed under Folsom's
prominent Rainbow Bridge. The bridge is a historic landmark of the area.
Built in 1917, the bridge crosses over the upper end of Lake Natoma and
the American River. A 208-foot long concrete arch spans the rocky ledges
of the canyon to help give the bridge it's fabled name. Photographed
and painted time and time again the bridge is truly a magnificent
sight.
I can remember last year when it loomed before
me as I paddled up the lake. Before I had moved to California, I had only seen it in pictures. As I paddled under it, I felt a thrill in pushing against the
current and past the silent monument. It was my welcome to Californian kayaking.
It is routine now. Lake Natoma
is my home lake. I have kayaked it so much and so often that I could
probably name the geese. Like all home lakes, I still find it beautiful
and fun to paddle around. I enjoy the quietness of its sloughs and the
loftiness of its high banks. I love that the water is just
minutes from my home. But that's where I have taken the lake for granted. I'm used to visiting it day after day.
Great days fade into the next, when I'm out kayaking alone. Sure, I have soloing days that are special. But, the
lasting and great memories come from paddling with my wife. I love to
watch her glide across the water. As an artist, she delights in changing
colors of sky and water while making paintings in her mind. She will
frown and voice disgust when a loud radio vanquishes the peaceful
solitude of the lake. This is her moment to enjoy what God has painted before her eyes.
I paddle behind trying to keep up, while she reveals to me the wonders of the water. This
is the first place we kayaked together when I came to visit her before we were married. We had rented a bulky tandem
sit on top and paddled together across the lake through the sloughs. It was a cool day and we had the lake to ourselves. We toured through the marsh enjoying the trees, birds and each others company. Now, every time I pass through those sloughs I remember that
day. Every time. It will always be one of my best memories of the lake.
Debbie
and I shared a sunset paddle the other day. Nothing exemplary, we are
heading into fall and the sun is setting faster each night.
We had to race back now before the sun slammed into the horizon. A
fleeting golden reflection illuminated the water and silhouetted Debbie
and her kayak. The rainbow bridge is close and beaming in the setting sun.
We will leave no lasting imprint. Water has no memory. However, sharing it with each other will always make each visit to the lake stand out.
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