Kayaking Monte Rio Down River with Birds and a Buck

Tuesday June 24, 2014 Monte Rio CA.

What the heck is going on with all the emergency vehicles going up and down the road?

I headed on down to Jenner to kayak today around 11AM. It was windy, so I waited around to see if anyone I knew was going to show up. In the mean time several emergency vehicles went by heading up or coming back from up the coast highway.

Back to Monte Rio to kayak

The wind was up pretty good so I was thinking of going back to Monte Rio and kayak down the river. I left Jenner and headed back to Monte Rio. At the intersection of highway one and highway 116 there was a road block blocking all traffic going up the coast, but I didn’t know what was going on? Maybe that is why no one else showed up at Jenner as the road block wasn’t in place when I went by earlier.

Up the road a few miles, there were three big white Greyhound type buses parked along side the road, with no one in them or around them? What’s gong on?

Kayaking Monte Rio

Ray’s truck was in the Monte Rio parking lot as I entered and went on down to the boat ramp and I could just see his kayak going down the river as I put my boat in the water.

I would of caught right up with Ray except I forgot my hat and I had to go back to the car for it..

These mallard ducks were sleeping along the shoreline as I started down the river.

This was my view just below Monte Rio of the river as I paddled on down toward the Villa Grande area.

I passed by this great blue heron checking me out. It was just sitting in the weeds getting some sun and doing a little fishing too.

I caught up with Ray and his son Joey at the down side of the Villa Grande hole at one of the resting spots along the river.

He said he had gotten turned around this morning by the road block so they went back to Monte Rio to kayak.

We paddled on down to the Sheridan beach and pulled under some trees to get out of the wind.

Steve showed up with the answers

While we were there, Steve showed up in his kayak. He said he’d been down to Jenner and was stopped by the road block but knew the Fish and Game guy at the block, so found out there was an overturned oil type truck up the coast that they were cleaning up, so that is why the road was closed.

We all sat around there for a good while, then Ray and his son headed back up the river, while Steve and I headed on down the river towards the Rein’s beach area where the Moscow hole is.

This is Ray and his son headed back to Monte Rio, with Sheridan beach on the left.

There was a pretty good breeze blowing, but not windy like down at Jenner right now as we headed on down the river to this spot on the right, where we could get out of the wind for a bit.

Headed to Moscow hole

Eventually, we continued on down the river passing these mallard ducks on the little island, just above the Moscow hole, which is just down at the end of the view in the picture.

We made it to Moscow hole and sat around in it for quite a spell as it is usually a calm area with little wind.

I paddled on down to the end of the hole by Rein’s beach, where I saw this wood looking type duck. I think it is either a young male wood duck getting it’s feather’s or a mature male wood duck molting?

This was our view as we paddled around in the Moscow hole area taking it easy for awhile before starting back up the river.

We took a break in our boats in this weed patch for a bit too, which was just above the Moscow hole.

We paddled up the left side of the above picture and ran into a family of merganser ducks fishing away. The little ones where about half grown. They stick their heads under the water and race around like that looking for fish to snag and were being very successful at it.

I had seen these geese earlier in the trees and couldn’t get a picture, but on the way back up the river, I caught them out in the open. Well, all but that one hiding it’s head. It’s actually feeding.

Big and brown looking

Above the Villa Grande hole I saw something big and brown along the edge, which turned out to be this male deer, or a buck. It was eating vigorously, that’s why it’s mouth is open. The horns are still in velvet. It moved off into the bushes has we passed, but popped right back out there eating away once we were by.

Something caught my eye as we passed this dock. It was moving to cover, but I got a picture of this green heron before it hid.

The river was calm now, not even a breeze

By now, it was evening, around 5:30 PM and the wind had died down to calm, so it looked like this as we came up on Monte Rio which is just below that mountain in the center of the picture.

We got our boats off the water around six PM and went on home, where I needed a good nap. I did a bit of puttering in the yard, but mostly took it easy for the rest of the day doing some planning on things I have to do around here.

That’s it for another day in my retired life. :O)