This is my addition.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
The Museum
Went out for a trip in the yak a couple of days ago and I was rounding a small island to begin the trip back and to my utter amazement I found a cairn museum. These pictures are in no particular order.
Heroin, Republicans and Kitchen Sinks
Heroin, Republicans and kitchen sinks: you wonder what these three things have to do with each other? Well let me tell you. I'm not sure of much but there are 3 things I will never do in my life (even though 2 of the 3 I have previously done). I will never use heroin, I will never (and I mean never) ever vote for a republican again, and I will never again install a kitchen sink. The plumber comes on Wednesday to install our sink. The tile is done, the grout is done and the calking is done.
Not a big fan of caulking but its done:)
My sled
Notice the miter cuts on the tile (although they are hard to see in this picture) - I had to make a 'sled' for the saw as the blade doesn't tilt.
My sled
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Monday Continued
Thanks for the inspiration Don. Don’t know if you have building yet this year but I started today.
The Sentinel
So here I’m kayaking on glass like water just enjoying the peace and serenity and I notice 2 rocks sitting on the big rock (where I built the sentinel) and it made me think that they should be sitting on top of each other. One thing led to another and there she sits.
Location: 46.38075, -90.23166
She looks a tad shaky.
The Two Towers
Originally this was to be named ‘pi’ but I couldn’t find a piece of wood to finish off the symbol. I was on a very small island. My back was getting a bit stiff and I needed to stretch. There were all kinds of stones begging to be picked up and I couldn’t help myself.
Location: 46.39997, -90.23165
I’m curious, if I punched these coordinates into Google maps would the location match my GPS?
While on the Two Towers Island I noticed this egg shell. Everywhere I stopped I noticed an inordinate amount of bird poop and this island was no exception. I’m guessing it’s a shell of a Canadian goose based on the size but truly I have no idea.
The Sentinel
So here I’m kayaking on glass like water just enjoying the peace and serenity and I notice 2 rocks sitting on the big rock (where I built the sentinel) and it made me think that they should be sitting on top of each other. One thing led to another and there she sits.
Location: 46.38075, -90.23166
She looks a tad shaky.
The Two Towers
Originally this was to be named ‘pi’ but I couldn’t find a piece of wood to finish off the symbol. I was on a very small island. My back was getting a bit stiff and I needed to stretch. There were all kinds of stones begging to be picked up and I couldn’t help myself.
Location: 46.39997, -90.23165
I’m curious, if I punched these coordinates into Google maps would the location match my GPS?
While on the Two Towers Island I noticed this egg shell. Everywhere I stopped I noticed an inordinate amount of bird poop and this island was no exception. I’m guessing it’s a shell of a Canadian goose based on the size but truly I have no idea.
Day 2 (Monday)
Once again I got a late start. Yesterday and today I got under way about 8:15 am. While Deb made breakfast I made a removable ‘kickstand’ for my kayak cart. It was too difficult to load it. Now it is real easy to use.
The water when I took off today was like glass and actually was until I got near my destination. Then the wind picked up and my trip back home was more like work as I had a headwind. Today I planned to go until I could see the bridge (county road C) and then turn around and head back. I followed the plan.
Highlights of the day:
1) I used the rudder. Even slowly meandering around the shoreline its nice. Up ahead I had spotted 2 ducks sitting on a log facing the same direction I was. I wanted to get right up to them. I build up speed and then coasted using my rudder to guide me. Making virtually no noise as I approached I got to within 10 feet of them before they nonchalantly left the log and swam away.
2) I rounded a peninsula as I was slowly meandering and came upon a duck and her ducklings. It was actually a sharp point at the end of the peninsula. I was maybe 5 ft away from the ducks when we startled each other. What happened next amazed me.
The ducklings and mother took off away from me with the mother trailing flapping her wings to splash the water. After maybe 15 or 20 feet she took off at a 90 degree angle and continued to ridiculously splash the water as she circled me from a distance. It was obvious to me that she was trying to attract my attention so that her ducklings could escape unharmed. It truly was beautiful to see.
3) As I was heading home I saw 4 bald eagles flying around very low above the water. A few minutes later 1 of them landed on a log by the shore and I probably got within 200 feet of him before he took off into a tree with another one.
All in all it was a great day. The difference between a head wind in a kayak and a head wind in a canoe is substantial. My trip back would have been daunting in canoe but was just a bit was basically easy in the kayak.
Am relaxing and not getting much done on the cabin. Tomorrow I am going fishing (thanks Mike and Lindsay) and will probably start the tile work on the sink cabinet. I probably have worked a total of 5 hours thus far (of course it is only Monday).
It was incredibly beautiful on the water
The water when I took off today was like glass and actually was until I got near my destination. Then the wind picked up and my trip back home was more like work as I had a headwind. Today I planned to go until I could see the bridge (county road C) and then turn around and head back. I followed the plan.
Highlights of the day:
1) I used the rudder. Even slowly meandering around the shoreline its nice. Up ahead I had spotted 2 ducks sitting on a log facing the same direction I was. I wanted to get right up to them. I build up speed and then coasted using my rudder to guide me. Making virtually no noise as I approached I got to within 10 feet of them before they nonchalantly left the log and swam away.
2) I rounded a peninsula as I was slowly meandering and came upon a duck and her ducklings. It was actually a sharp point at the end of the peninsula. I was maybe 5 ft away from the ducks when we startled each other. What happened next amazed me.
The ducklings and mother took off away from me with the mother trailing flapping her wings to splash the water. After maybe 15 or 20 feet she took off at a 90 degree angle and continued to ridiculously splash the water as she circled me from a distance. It was obvious to me that she was trying to attract my attention so that her ducklings could escape unharmed. It truly was beautiful to see.
3) As I was heading home I saw 4 bald eagles flying around very low above the water. A few minutes later 1 of them landed on a log by the shore and I probably got within 200 feet of him before he took off into a tree with another one.
All in all it was a great day. The difference between a head wind in a kayak and a head wind in a canoe is substantial. My trip back would have been daunting in canoe but was just a bit was basically easy in the kayak.
Am relaxing and not getting much done on the cabin. Tomorrow I am going fishing (thanks Mike and Lindsay) and will probably start the tile work on the sink cabinet. I probably have worked a total of 5 hours thus far (of course it is only Monday).
It was incredibly beautiful on the water
Dancing With Loons (Sunday)
I had an awesome time on the maiden voyage. I went for about 2 hours. I decided not to use the rudder. I'll try that tomorrow.
The highlight was the 10 minutes I spent with the pair of loons. They were incredibly close.
The highlight was the 10 minutes I spent with the pair of loons. They were incredibly close.
My Kayak
I bought my kayak last week off of craigslist. It’s a 14’ Perception (Carolina is the model name). I stole it for $625. The kayak retails for $950 plus tax and that is without a rudder. For my $625 I got the kayak with rudder, paddle, life jacket, skirt and a bilge (I think that’s what it’s called) pump. It’s an 06 or 07 model but used less than 6 times. I bought it from a guy whose dad bought it but passed away 2 years ago. I’m guessing he got sick soon after buying it which is why it has not been used.
I was really lucky. I had decided on the Carolina but I would have had to pick it up at Gander Mountain in Wausau. We had stopped at Gander Mountain in Sheboygan. When we got home I checked one last time on craigslist and this one had been listed maybe 15 minutes earlier (this was on Sunday). When I picked it up on Wednesday the owner said he had at least 20 emails about the kayak – damn but was I lucky.
Before I could pick it up (south of Milwaukee) I needed a way to carry it. I built a simple frame to mount on the rails of my pickup and it worked great. I also decided that it didn’t make sense to embrace the virtues of silent sports but then drive my kayak to the boat landing .4 miles away. This prompted me to make a cart to walk the kayak to the boat landing. I built the prototype Saturday morning. I mounted the kayak today and got maybe 100 ft down the road when I realized it wasn’t going to work. I had the wheels towards the center so I was carrying half of the weight. I moved the cart to the middle of the kayak and it worked great. It is however a royal pain in the ass to load so the production model will have 3 wheels and be 4- 6 feet long. Engineering is still working out the final design.
I was really lucky. I had decided on the Carolina but I would have had to pick it up at Gander Mountain in Wausau. We had stopped at Gander Mountain in Sheboygan. When we got home I checked one last time on craigslist and this one had been listed maybe 15 minutes earlier (this was on Sunday). When I picked it up on Wednesday the owner said he had at least 20 emails about the kayak – damn but was I lucky.
Before I could pick it up (south of Milwaukee) I needed a way to carry it. I built a simple frame to mount on the rails of my pickup and it worked great. I also decided that it didn’t make sense to embrace the virtues of silent sports but then drive my kayak to the boat landing .4 miles away. This prompted me to make a cart to walk the kayak to the boat landing. I built the prototype Saturday morning. I mounted the kayak today and got maybe 100 ft down the road when I realized it wasn’t going to work. I had the wheels towards the center so I was carrying half of the weight. I moved the cart to the middle of the kayak and it worked great. It is however a royal pain in the ass to load so the production model will have 3 wheels and be 4- 6 feet long. Engineering is still working out the final design.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)