Hey y'all

On Saturday 9/24/05, Dorothy Brasher (from Human Resources) and I got together for a kayak ride. Our original plan was to go to Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine and paddle around Salt Run. In the morning before I left the house I checked the tides and weather. I also looked at the water level and flow rate on the St. Mary's River. So, after getting down to St. Augustine and meeting up with Dorothy I asked her how she would feel about a change in plans and go up to the St. Mary's River instead. She agreed in a heartbeat. And we are both so glad she did as you will see. So we trekked back up north and left her car at the University and we took my truck up to the St. Mary's. A lot of driving but worth every minute. We put in at Stokes Rd. off Rte. 121 on the Florida side of the river. In the morning I saw that the flow rate was 110 cu. ft. per second, one of the lowest flow rates I had seen on the river so I figured it would be easy to paddle upstream against the flow. That and the water level was at 3.6 feet, again one of the lowest levels I had seen. Surprise, surprise. Because the water was lower and more 'channelized', paddling against the flow was a real chore. There were times when I had to paddle like crazy to keep my boat going straight. Which meant that Dorothy was having a real time of it. So after a half mile or so I asked Dorothy if she would mind tying off the front of her boat to the back of mine so I could give her a little help. Naturally she was a little reluctant at first since we all like to think we can do it on our own, but in the end she was very thankful that she did. And it was only for the upstream part of our ride. Our journey wasn't a very long one,  2 1/2 miles upstream then back down again for a total of 5 miles. But I want you to keep that in mind when you look at the pictures and try to realize how much beauty we saw in such a very short distance. Our total outing was 5 hours including two long breaks, one 'breather' and one for lunch. We could not have wanted a more beautiful day. It was warm but not blistering hot and there was a slight breeze blowing most of the time. And the water was very cool for wading.  And when we stopped for some picture-taking the absolute silence except for the occasional bird chirping was almost surreal. No car noise, no planes, no people noise, nothing. The kind of silence you have to experience firsthand to truly appreciate. So on with the show.

This first photo is near Stokes bridge where we put in at. As I told Dorothy this was my fourth trip on this section of the river and I had never seen it in a more beautiful state. Bear in mind all my previous trips here had been when the river was at or near flood stage. 

This was my first time seeing the white sand banks of this beautiful river. 

I know this looks like an easy paddle bit it wasn't. It was quite a workout. With steady paddling upstream we did about 1 mph. With no paddling coming back downstream we did over 2 1/2 mph. Needless to say coming back downstream was a dream. 

The scenery speaks for itself. As I said we were both so thankful for the change in plan. After going to St. Augustine once, you've pretty much seen it all. On the St. Mary's River, every bend in the river offers a whole new scene. 

And of course where there is sand and water there are sand patterns. 

Talk about a day at the beach. This is how all the sand looks on this river. As white as sugar and just about as fine grained. You can also see how darkly stained the water is. Both the St. Mary's and the Suwannee are know as 'blackwater' rivers. Easy to understand why isn't it?

We didn't see a lot of cypress but what we did was fascinating to look at. 

I was quite happy to see that this picture came out okay. It was back in the woods a bit and very darkly shaded. Over a hundred feet of the bank along here was all cypress knees. 

As I said at the beginning, all this beautiful scenery in such a short distance. Dorothy and I both agreed that camping out out here would be a memorable occasion.

This little trip was simply heaven on earth. 

There were a fair number of trees in the water and we had more than a few obstacles to deal with on the way upstream.

See the tree over the river up ahead? The last time I came down here I went under it on the left side and had to bend over backwards to get underneath it. And all the white sandy beaches you've seen so far; we saw none of that before. Before, as far into the woods on both sides was water as far as we could see.  What a huge difference.

Heading back downstream.

Beautiful isn't it?

I hope you all enjoyed this outstanding little trip on the St. Mary's river. Dorothy and I sure did. 

As always,

ENJOY !        

Jack Woodward      mailto:  jackwoodward66@hotmail.com

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