I’m sorry, it does not happen very often that I can’t choose from many pictures during a weekend filling event. Joan and I paddled the Turkey River here in Northeast Iowa, and of course, “kayak dog Cooper” was in the boat too. For the local visitors of my blog, we did the stretch between Elgin and Motor Mill, Iowa in three stages. Our last take out was at Motor Mill, between Elkader and Garber, and that is the location the photo was made. The Turkey River isn’t really difficult to paddle but I decided to leave the camera at shore this time. We stopped counting Bald Eagles sitting in the trees along the river after a while. They are here in Iowa in abundance and I think it is one of the best stories about bird restoration that is worth talking about. Many other birds, like Belted Kingfishers, Eastern Kingbirds, Cedar Waxwings, and several unidentified flycatchers drew our attention. We saw the biggest White-tailed Deer buck I have ever seen and many fawns told the story about a new generation of deer growing up this summer. With other words, wildlife in abundance.
Sure, this sounds like a lot of missed opportunities but in reality shooting out of a fast floating kayak, with hardly any way to stop, may most likely not lead to a good photo.
However, here is the shot I made after the kayaks were back on the roof of the car. Motor Mill is an old Wheat Mill, built in 1864, and in a very good state of preservation. It is listed on the National Register of Historical sites.