Month: January 2020

Kayaking on the Loxahatchee River

~ lawrencepallant ~ 3 Comments

Last week I went for a 4-mile kayak trip on the Loxahatchee River in Riverbend Park in Florida. This was my 3rd time on the river. While there, we observed two alligators, many turtles and some interesting birds. It was a comfortable 80° F. The river, in the section we visited, is about as wide as a one or two lane road with many sharp twists and turns.

Sleeping Alligator

The alligator was resting on the bank in a bend in the river. The current initially pushed us toward it, which was a little scary. Once we got past it and out of the current, we paddled back for another view.

On the River
Florida Red-Bellied Cooter
Launch Pad of the Florida Red-Bellied Cooter
Gathering of Turtles – I didn’t realize until I looked at this photo later that one of the turtles is a Florida Soft-Shelled Turtle.

Click here to see a few more photos.

Elderberry Canyon

~ lawrencepallant ~ 1 Comment

In my ski mountaineering days, I used to drive past this mountain and wonder about skiing down the long slope in the canyon you see on its face. When I learned that a Sierra club group planned a ski this, I joined the outing. We started the ascent below snow level, carrying skis on packs. When we reached snow, we put on our skis and skinned up the canyon to just below the peak wall. We didn’t go to the peak which would have been too extreme. We skied the canyon. For me it was lots of “kick turns” and falls. 

Elevation: 13,652′
Before Sunrise
First Rays of the Day

Later in the morning I went scouting for sunrise photo compositions along the creek near this white bridge for another day. Most of the grasses and shrubs were covered with frost.

White Bridge

Please leave a comment if you like what you see.

These photos are included here, same album as posted the previous week.