Well, I don't really have to write anything today, because when you listen to the weather report, you know that it is just gorgeous here. Real summer heat. Shorts, cold drinks, sunhats, the whole bit.
As keeper of wild places you know I like to go from here, without using the car. But this kind of heat calls for a treat. I drove to Mendenhall landing, where the Mendenhall river flows into the Takhini river. I did make it a multi-purpose trip. We haul our own drinking water. Normally my husband gets it from Stony creek on the way to work. Today I got it from the Takhini river, where it is still running totally clear, right out of Kusawa lake. And I collect cans for the recycling money. All that to make me feel better about driving .
I park my car right by the landing. Walk on the muddy edges of the Mendenhall river towards the Takhini river. The mud is nice and soft, and staying close to the shore it is not too soft. This time of year the rivers here are very low. The mountains are still frozen. I am always still amazed that there is water in the rivers, because there is not much precipitation here. For these mountains to give so much water they are bigger then I even can imagine.
There is a spotted sandpiper. (of course he doesn't hang around when I walk by, but I get to snatch a quick picture.) By the sound, I think there are more, but these shorebirds are kind of... They scream, well make their sound, and fly off and blend in with the shoreline. On the Takhini river, the shore is more gravelly. Gravel on top of mud, still soft. I cross a channel to the Island there. The original island is grassy and willows with a few trees. But now it is surrounded by great beaches and gravel bars. I do go bare foot, to reach another few gravel bars that are exposed. My feet are still sensitive, having been in boots all winter. I try to step on the bigger rocks in the gravel. Crossing the channels between the bars is very, very cold on the ankles. There are still chunks of ice on the shadow side of the river.
Oh heaven, I brought a towel and a book. I go here every year in May and know that there is a lovely little pool behind one little island close to the main one. Today it is the size of a large hot tub. Not quite that hot. But definitely warmer then... frozen, as the water has been heating in the sun. I dive in twice! Yukon swimming, I love it! It's kind of my thing, most people think I am crazy. Well not when they're from Quebec. I have two friends,(from Quebec) who share my passion and actually will out do me in endurance.
I stretch out on my towel and read under the blue blue sky, hence the sunburn.
As keeper of wild places you know I like to go from here, without using the car. But this kind of heat calls for a treat. I drove to Mendenhall landing, where the Mendenhall river flows into the Takhini river. I did make it a multi-purpose trip. We haul our own drinking water. Normally my husband gets it from Stony creek on the way to work. Today I got it from the Takhini river, where it is still running totally clear, right out of Kusawa lake. And I collect cans for the recycling money. All that to make me feel better about driving .
I park my car right by the landing. Walk on the muddy edges of the Mendenhall river towards the Takhini river. The mud is nice and soft, and staying close to the shore it is not too soft. This time of year the rivers here are very low. The mountains are still frozen. I am always still amazed that there is water in the rivers, because there is not much precipitation here. For these mountains to give so much water they are bigger then I even can imagine.
There is a spotted sandpiper. (of course he doesn't hang around when I walk by, but I get to snatch a quick picture.) By the sound, I think there are more, but these shorebirds are kind of... They scream, well make their sound, and fly off and blend in with the shoreline. On the Takhini river, the shore is more gravelly. Gravel on top of mud, still soft. I cross a channel to the Island there. The original island is grassy and willows with a few trees. But now it is surrounded by great beaches and gravel bars. I do go bare foot, to reach another few gravel bars that are exposed. My feet are still sensitive, having been in boots all winter. I try to step on the bigger rocks in the gravel. Crossing the channels between the bars is very, very cold on the ankles. There are still chunks of ice on the shadow side of the river.
Oh heaven, I brought a towel and a book. I go here every year in May and know that there is a lovely little pool behind one little island close to the main one. Today it is the size of a large hot tub. Not quite that hot. But definitely warmer then... frozen, as the water has been heating in the sun. I dive in twice! Yukon swimming, I love it! It's kind of my thing, most people think I am crazy. Well not when they're from Quebec. I have two friends,(from Quebec) who share my passion and actually will out do me in endurance.
I stretch out on my towel and read under the blue blue sky, hence the sunburn.
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