My wife has been chiding me for years about my occasional gambling ventures. I have the worst luck. It is so bad, I have never won a single seed. I have gone to the casino, bet on horse races, put wages on critter sports game (50/50 odds!), and nothing. My buddies have learned not to bet on whatever I am putting seeds down on. My wife has never gambled in her life. But recently her lady’munk friends talked her into going to a charity fundraiser super bingo. She rationalized it was just a donation and a lady’s night out. She bought one 10 seed bingo card. She came home around midnight and announced she had won the grand prize, an all expense paid two week eco-tour vacation on the Powwow River. It was supposedly worth 10,000 seeds!
The travel instructions said to pack everything in waterproof luggage and bring camera and binoculars. We would be getting up close and personal with all sorts of “wildlife.” We were to arrive at the Powwow River Yacht Club to board for our river cruise. Wow that sounds fancy and luxurious. We arrived at the dock. The club president came out to greet us personally. She explained that club runs eco-tours and was eco-friendly. I inquired what she meant by eco-friendly. To avoid polluting the planet and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, the club banned all motorized boats a few years ago. All boats are hand powered.
Before hitting the water we had go through some boat and safety training.
At 10 feet 6 inches long, this kayak is huge at least from a chipmunk's perspective. Thankfully there was a sturdy log to get on board.
This is the bow of the kayak. There is a convenient spot to sit and do a bit of fishing.
“Hey, who is the wise guy rocking the kayak!”
Maybe, I will just sit in the cockpit and pilot the kayak
from there.
“What? I am facing the wrong direction.”
I wonder where the snack bar is?
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The locals are friendly. This fella is giving us the “hang loose” wave.
I have driven over bridges but never gone under one. This ought to be a unique experience.
According to our guide, this is one of the hottest bird nesting sites in the area.
Nice spacious girders to build nests on and being under the bridge and over the water, completely raccoon proof.
The “modern” bridge was built on the abutments of a much older bridge. Quarried stones used with “dry masonry” method that is without the use of mortar.
[Raccoon] First there were the human tourists, and now the “wildlife” is taking wildlife tours. What’s the world coming to? (Hmmm, I wonder if the garbage trucks do home delivery?)
Everything was going well until our route up the river was blocked by this rather serious looking swan. Not to worry this is apparently the owner of the hotel we are stay at tonight.
This is the Beaver Hut Hotel. It is best known for its rooftop garden.
There are wild roses ...
and pickerelweed (purple flowers) ...
and even a fern Zen garden.
We are in luck tonight. The hotel is holding a special performance of Swan Lake.
This is a rather humorous adaptation, I couldn’t stop laughing.
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