Memorial Day and Our First Kayak Outing Together

Hello to all, and I hope you had a great Memorial Day. I would first like to pay honor to those who are and who have served in our military and especially to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Our heart goes out to them and their families, I know it does not bring them back but we can ensure they are not forgotten. I hope you too took a few minutes of your day to remember them.
As for the rest of the holiday weekend, we did as most all of America did, had a cook out with friends and family. Our neighbors Brandon and Julie had us over. Talk about good eatin, ribs, beans, salads, chips and great company to share it with. You may say we had a good time as we started around 2 pm and were still going strong at midnight!!! however, I had to be a party pooper and head home at the midnight hour as I had to work in the morn.

The garden Sheryl and Cassie planted is coming right along, it sure sprouted up alot faster than I thought it was going to considering it started from seeds. Soon fresh veggies for all!!!

Wednesday we both managed to get the day off together, and the weather actually cooperated and gave us a great day, so off to the lake we went. We have been waiting to be able to go kayaking together, so today was the day. Temps were in the 70's with a good wind blowing (whats new!!.) We put in at a small cove and all was well till we hit the unprotected open area of the lake, wow the wind was just a kickin, there were actually white caps on the wind blown waves!! It turned out not to be so bad though, actually the waves made it kinda interesting and fun.Here we are in our now famous honey shot, taking the picture while sitting to 2 separate kayaks on the lake was interesting to say the least, but we were able to capture the moment.

Sheryl packed us a good lunch, sandwiches, Cheetos and watermelon salad,. We made our way across the lake and found a nice little secluded spot for lunch. The white you see in the picture is a layer of quartz uncovered by erosion with the red dirt both above and below it. It sure made a nice spot to sit and have lunch together.

Sheryl was enjoying her first real kayak outing, even if it was only for a couple of hours, the kayaks handled really good in high winds and waves. The more we use them the better we like them, lots of storage, they track really well and are good and steady, we'll never win a race with them, but they will be great for kayak camping now and in the future.

Yours truly, enjoying the day

A shot of the lake looking south from our lunch spot, we didn't realize there were some islands in the lake (you can see one here.) Like allover the US the lake is very low, partially due to several years of drought and also by the booming population. Here in the west, most all water comes from lakes and rivers, it's a double edge sword though, you need water to drink and water the crops, but it leaves low lakes and dried up rivers.

After pulling out of the lake, Sheryl spotted this dandelion, we both have never seen one so big, it's actually larger than Sheryl's hand!! it was growing in a pretty wind protected area, so we think that is why it may have gotten so big without blowing away.

During the ride home, we took a different route than on the way there, the fields were full of wild flowers, vast areas of yellow, purple, and red blanketed the pastures. It was a great way to end a great day on the water. The spotting of one small flower or gazing over a vast field of them, you can find beauty most anywhere if you stop and take the time to look. So take a few minutes out of you busy lives, to as they say "stop and smell the roses" you will be amazed at what you will find. So until next time, love your life as we do ours!!!