Firsts on the Fourth

Carolyn makes her way down the Oswego, toward Harrisville. It was her first solo trip.

Me and Abby on the lower Oswego July 4, 2008. It was Abby's first day out on the kayak.

A few firsts on this holiday: First time Carolyn paddled solo, first time Abby was out on the water and first time I caught a lady pooping in the woods (sorry, no photo). 

We put in at Harrisville and made our way across the lake toward the mouth of the Oswego. The first beach on the river was a mob scene. Our destination, Baker's Beach, was slightly less polluted with bennies. Both beaches can be accessed by dirt road. (I guess the secret's out.)

It was at Baker's Beach that, to my horror, I was greeted at the top of the hill by a full moon in broad daylight. It's not the first naked person I've come across in the wild. Although, before this, all of my run-ins have been with skinny dippers. At first my theory was that all of these naked folks just didn't realize that other people may be sharing the same remote trail/river. But lately my feeling is they just don't give a damn; they're just enjoying that sense of lawlessness that comes along with being in the Pines (or at Burning Man). Although I should note, word on the river is that rangers regularly patrol the beaches and are handing out fines in the range of $250 for drinking alcoholic beverages. (Fines are doubled if it's Budweiser.)

At Baker's Beach, Abby had fun playing in the water, while Carolyn kept herself occupied by swatting pine flies. We were semi-entertained by a drunken group of paddlers who made a few successful runs down Baker's Bluff.

We spotted a great blue heron, multiple turtles and many bennies. We missed pitcher plants in bloom (late May to mid-June). At the end of the day, Abby was beat and passed out in her car seat on the way home down Red Road (where we did not pass a single car in that 9-mile stretch).

A benny makes a run down Baker's Bluff.