Late Day Paddle in the Russian River Estuary

Sunday April 20, 2014 Jenner CA.

Sometimes it’s good to go late on holidays

I started the day puttering around in the yard, but I don’t remember what I did? Maybe nothing, after all it’s Sunday and a holiday.

Around two PM I headed on down to Jenner for a late kayak, hoping most of the people would be gone by then and most of them were.

I put my boat in the water and headed across the river and on up the south side, passing these cormorants and merganser ducks.

I paddled up along the shoreline in this picture until I reached the rat nest beach.

I sat around here at rat nest beach for a bit, then turned around and crossed over the river.

I wanted to check out these geese with the cows, which I did.

Then I paddled back across the river to the south side and went by this place.

Not too far down from there I crossed the river again to go down the north side a bit.

This great blue heron was fishing and some ducks too.

The ocean was real rough

I continued on down to the river’s mouth area. There was a lot of foam coming in off the ocean. It was high tide and the ocean was real rough.

I sat in the foam for quite awhile checking things out and watching the big waves breaking over the jetty. Some harbor seals and birds where on the beaches.

I’m always real glad I’m in the river instead of the rough ocean.

The ocean was extra rough today, with lots of big waves and foam.

Always lots of harbor seals by the mouth area. This is just behind the jetty.

I stayed down in that area for about an hour before heading back in.

In front of the west end of Penny Island were a bunch of harbor seals in the water doing something.

These three checked me out as I went on by.

I went by this male mallard duck on the island.

By now, the daily breeze was just about down to nothing as I approached the take out ramp.

The water was almost flat

The water had become so calm I was reluctant to get out, but I did.

This is the take out ramp at the visitor center as I approached it.

I thought about waiting for the sun to go down, but with no clouds in the sky, it wouldn’t be a great sunset, so I went on in for the day.

This is my kayak on the take out ramp just before I loaded the boat on the car and just before the sun was going to go down, looking down the river towards the ocean.

That was my day and a another nice one too.