Lower Flint River-Chickasaw Landing Canoe Trail

Lake Guntersville

honeycomb ramp kayak excursion

After a successful excursion from the honeycomb campground a few weeks ago, which I neglected to post about, we searched out and found a public ramp for Honeycomb Creek . This allowed us access to the north end of honeycomb and lots of wetland we hadn't explored before. Nice trip with great fall colors.

here's a great resource for finding public boat ramps:
http://www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/where/reservoirs/guntersville/access/

great colorsmost turtles flee when they hear my camera turning on

mysterious objectthis dock has a guardbird

Great weekend for kayaking

Since the weather was beautiful and Otis has 2 weeks off before he starts his next therapy pug class we decided to take the kayak out both Saturday and Sunday and the trips turned out to be wildly different, but both fun. 

On Saturday, we put in from the floating dock in the Ditto backwater and paddled out into the Tennessee River.We followed the green-way path up-river past the old barge dock/warehouse, the water pumping station and the Madison County Boat Harbor. We decided to explore Hobbs Island by paddling upriver on the inland side and returning on the river channel side. The sculling crews were out practicing their rowing, so we tried to stay out of their way. By the time we got to the southernmost tip of Hobbs Island we were getting tired and starting to wonder just how big the island is?! Also, any terrestrial explorations were thwarted by no trespassing signs on the island itself, prompting curiosity about who owns the island. A little research after the fact  shows that Native Americans once used the island and left behind some mounds, a town site and many arrowheads. At the south end we found a nice river-bank development that had its own little copper-topped lighthouse.

The return trip was more challenging because we were tired and the river side of the island was subject to much higher wind and the wakes of all the boats going up and down the river. We passed a nice sailboat going the other way. Finally made it back to the dock and pulled our boat up onto the dock and sat with our feet dangling in the water while eating our lunch.

On Sunday we put in at Ditto again, but this time paddled inland, exploring the backwaters that connect Aldridge Creek to the Tennessee River. There was no wind, the water was calm, and it was so quiet you could hear the insects buzzing in the trees. We paddled up Aldridge Creek, under Hobbs Island Road and under the old Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis (NC&StL) Railroad bridge. We saw either a beaver or a muskrat, but he was shy and would not give us a closer look. We decided to bring a trash bag on our next excursion up the creek so we can gather some of the trash that we sometimes see caught in the plants and roots on the banks.

Beans in Remission

Otis's sidekick, Beans, is doing great after completing 3 months of cancer treatment. Whitesburg Animal Hospital has been wonderful in treating our boxer mix, Beans. Beans had cancer and just finished chemotherapy at Whitesburg. No more weekly trips there though because we believe that Beans is now officially in remission.

Otie Passed!

Otis passed his Family Manners class at Kind Hearts Behavior Center. Although he was too distracted to complete his trick for everyone, he is on to the Foundations class and well on his way to becoming a pet therapy pug.

Exploring Ditto Landing

Ditto Landing is so close to our home that we can load the kayak and be there in 10 minutes. We have been exploring various inlets around Ditto Landing that lead to the TN River. Although we startled a few heron, the sights and sounds were wonderful.

Maiden Voyage of Tandem Kayak

After trying a tandem kayak in Chattanooga and a canoe on the Flint River, we decided to get a tandem kayak for weekend outings. We found a Pelican 140DX Pursuit at Dick's Sporting Goods that was on sale, so we made the plunge. The only fear was - would it fit on top of the Prius? Well, fit it does. Loading it on the Prius is no problem at all. We went straight from Dick's to Ditto Landing and had a wonderful time. Can't wait to go again!

Concerts in the Park

The city of Huntsville sponsors a weekly "Concerts in the Park" event during the summer. The performers set up on the back deck of the Huntsville Museum of Art and people bring folding chairs and picnic meals and dogs. Some people dance. This week there were 2 acts: Mambo Gris Gris and the Rocket City Jazz Orchestra. 

Mambo Gris Gris (web page) was good fun, playing latin flavored dance music. They had a great sax player and Huntsville string master Jim Cavendar on electric bass (who's guitar work with the Rolling Jazz Review is always amazing, if you get a chance to see that band).

The Rocket City Jazz Orchestra (web page) played second and covered a range of big band and swing tunes, both with and without a vocalist. The vocalist did a great job with the appropriate tune, "Summertime, from Porgy & Bess.

Hampton Cove Kayak Adventures

• We decided to try out canoeing so we rented canoes to take a 2.5 hour trip along the Flint River.
• HCKA (facebook page) was great dropping us off and picking us up at the end of our trip. 
• The Flint River was definitely a challenge with lots of debris and fallen trees in our path. 
• We definitely had a lot of flexibility with the canoe in getting in and out of the canoe, which we needed to do more than once due to the water hazards. "Do Not Lean," however, was a mantra to Dee as we avoided spiders, submerged tree, and overgrown areas.
• Definitely a trip worth taking as long as you are aware it's not a lazy, stress free trip. 

Chattanooga Downtown Kayak Adventure

Chattanooga Downtown Kayak Adventure

• We had a fantastic time taking the kayak tour of downtown Chattanooga offered by Outdoor Chattanooga.
• The tour lasted about two hours and went at a very slow pace. 
• We learned about some local history, viewed a blue heron rookery, and did some wonderful bird watching. 
• We can't wait to get Otis out on the water in our very own kayak!

Ditto Landing

Ditto Landing

• We love to go with Otis & Beans to Ditto Landing. It is in south Madison County in Huntsville and midway on the Tennessee River.
• Ditto Landing has a marina, picnic grounds, and a camping area. We like to picnic beside the river and walk along the river watching the boats go by. 

Lookout Mountain, TN

Ruby Falls

• We crowded into the underground maze to view the falls and took a mile-long walk inside the mountain. We enjoyed seeing all the rock formations and learning the history about the mountain. The caverns were once used as a hospital during wartime.
• The site is not pet-friendly and not for someone who cannot hold their bladder. No restrooms are available during the hour-long tour. 

Rock City

• We absolutely loved visiting this tourist attraction that also happens to be pet-friendly. 
• The rock gardens were beautiful and views just amazing. 
• Atop the mountain, we were able to see 7 different states. 

Georgia Aquarium

• The Georgia Aquarium is a great place to go if you buy your tickets ahead of time and get in as early as you can, otherwise you are waiting for hours with very little shade.
• It's not pet-friendly, but inside the Aquarium, we enjoyed seeing the Dolphin Show and all the various marine life including the beluga whales. 
• Centennial Olympic Park is pet-friendly, but we went when it was so hot outside that the park was not even people-friendly. 

my favorite whale shark photo with the people silhouettes in the foreground giving scale

Piranha!

Whale Shark

Someone has to clean out the penguin habitat... good job for an intern.

UFO..... no, actually its a jellyfish. Eastern Sea Nettle to be exact.