Kayaking

 Big Elk:

Jenn and RJ want to kayak once a week this summer, and I'm happy to tag along. The first one we did was at Big Elk. It was so green and gorgeous. We kayaked the whole perimeter and it was 4 miles. It's so awesome to see the reservoir and all the inlets filled to capacity this year. It took us a heck of a winter to get to this point, but it was so needed!

Tear Drop Lake:

For the next one, we decided to head up to Ashton, by Joyce, to kayak Tear Drop Lake. It's a small lake, but very pretty. Steph took the day off work to join us, and Joyce met us there. It was a nice relaxing day.

Steph-Jenn-RJ-Joyce-Tricia

Teton River:

I was so excited about this one! I've only done the Teton River one other time, and I loved it. It's a good one to see wildlife on, and the views of the Tetons are great. Joyce and Phil met the three of us there, and it was 'mostly' a great day. The river is calm and meandering this time of year, but every once in a while you have to paddle through a current to keep you from running into the bushes along the shore. We had banked our kayaks for a few minutes, so we could get some pictures of the Tetons. When we started again, Joyce had to paddle through a current, but didn't have enough time, before her kayak was heading straight for a big cluster of bushed on the shore. I was already past that point, so I watched her go into the bushes, and her kayak tip completely upside down. It was too deep where she was to touch, and the current was pretty strong. She was struggling to stay afloat, while keeping hold of the paddle, and trying to get her dry bag that was stuck under the kayak. Jenn and I tried to paddle upstream to help her, but it was impossible. We paddled and paddled and couldn't get anywhere. Phil hadn't left the shore where we were taking pictures yet, so he was upstream from her. He got to her really fast, but now they were both in the water. It was a struggle, but they finally got the kayak flipped back over and to a place they could touch. Joyce emptied the dry bag, and water poured out of it. Since it was stuck under the kayak, with the strong current rushing into it, it didn't stay dry. Joyce is a wildlife photographer, and her $6000 camera was in the bag. It was awful! We were all trying to focus on the good, that everyone was okay, but we also just wanted to cry about the camera! Luckily it is ensured, and she only has to pay the small depreciation value to get a new one. Whew, I was so stressed for her for a few days.

We saw a mama and baby moose napping on the shore.

We banked and watched these two eagles for a long time before they flew away.

I love watching Joyce work her magic with the camera, so I took this picture. Little did we know, it would be the last pictures she took with that camera. RIP camera! 😭

Such a gorgeous day!

Jenn-Phil-Joyce-RJ-Tricia

The Teton views are awesome!

A lady that was kayaking with another group saw us round the corner with the Tetons behind us. 
She took this picture of our group and then air dropped it to me at the end of the float.

Such a great start to the kayaking season. Can't wait for more places next month.