No Alarm Clock Needed

114 days since my last paddle. Lots of hours at the office in between. Sunday was a no alarm clock morning.

Pulled out of 5505 at 5:30 am and was east bound to the Iowa side of the Big Sioux River. Head lights of the Kia proved to be just enough light to portage my kayak down to the river bank at Gitchie Manitou State Park.  

Kayak and beer stashed I made way south to the Grandview bridge to wait for Tyler.

Sunrise from Grandview
Tyler arrived right on time at 6:30 am we promptly started our 6 mile run back to Gitchie Manitou State Park. Morning temp was brisk and a nice northern breeze pushed us back towards our point of origin. 

Making it back to our stashed vessels we took a minute to catch our breaths and bundle up for the paddle. Tyler's trusted co-captain, Nicole, met up with us for this leg of the journey. We shoved off and my first paddle of 2016 was underway.

Glide
Below the cliffs at Good Earth
Changes on the river are always subtle but the first of spring they seem to jump out. The cliff banks at Good Earth were steeper. Old dead tree tress showed the wear and tear of another winter.

River brew
Workin' hard
We covered the 5 miles of river back to the Grandview bridge in about 1:35 minutes. Back home by 9:45. No better way to kick off a Sunday.

Plenty of day left to enjoy. Kelsey, Sylvie, and I loaded up and headed back out Good Earth state park. Time for a bub lug!

Bub lug
We looped our way down to the river bank that I had kayaked by earlier that morning. Sylvie made it clear that she wanted to cut free from the baby carrier to do a little exploring.

River bank 
Smiles abound
Happy bub
Nothing quite like sitting on the bank of a river on a warm sunny day like we had. After enjoying our time in the sun we set off to complete our loop through Good Earth state park. We finished the loop but I think one of our party might have missed the last few miles.

Zzz...







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