Not Renting Any More

I am not going to be renting the kayaks anymore now that I have a real job. I will still keep up this blog from time to time to talk about kayaking things. Hopefully someday someone will find it and decide to check out "that big lake to the west of us" as a friend of mine once called Utah Lake.

So, I have been out on the lake since the last post, but I think only once. The main problem is that the East Bay entrance is blocked by construction. Also I found out this weekend that that area is maybe better known as "the Knolls," according to my brother-in-law. I have been dying to go out there because my brother just got back from Lake Titicaca in Peru where they live on man made islands just like I want to make here. Here are some links to some pictures of the islands.

On another note, my brother went out this past weekend and said Utah Lake State park is flooded over the parking lot. I dont know if that is normal, but I definitely have never seen the water that high.

Oh, and did I mention we took the kayaks to Lake Powell?? Loved it. I just wish we had motors so we could get to some of the back areas of the lake.

Island

So, I'm building an island. Pictures and details to come, lets just say it will be awesome. It will be a cool destination and I'm planning on making a pirate map to show how to get to it. Get excited, but not too impatient. It may take a couple of months to finish.

Summertime!

I know summer is just beginning, but the allure of the lake is definitely back. I have been out three times already-I need to put up some pictures. I went with a friend today to the east bay marshes and saw a whole bunch of birds. I've never been one for birdwatching, but it was pretty cool to know what I was seeing. Although I'm sure there is more, here's the list that I can remember:

Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelicans (So amazing especially when they fly in a long chain together)
Beaver (not technically a bird)
Coots (my favorite because they can walk on water)
The state bird of Utah:Seagulls
Great Blue Heron
Night Heron
Paired off Mallards
Red-winged Blackbirds
Yellow-headed Blackbirds
Carp jumping fully out of the water (not very good at being a bird)

Unfortunately none of these are my pictures. I think I will start taking a camera and working on this list.

East Bay Kayak Trip

These pictures are of a trip I went on down to the East Bay area. This area is absolutely gorgeous especially in the evenings. The section of the lake that you end up at is a shallow area with marshes all around that speed boats don't enter. Your only human visitors will be fishermen on flatboats, but more common sightings are the blackbirds singing, the fish jumping, and the pelicans flying, with an occasional swimming muskrat.

East Bay

•1 mile river through reeds to the lake

•Features

–Most beautiful sunsets

–Marshland

•Open water area available without being in the lake with waves and big boats

–Bird Refuge
•Pelicans
•Loons
•Cranes
•Kingfishers
•Yellow headed Blackbirds
•Red winged Blackbirds
•Ducks
•Song birds
•Other wildlife

–Close to Provo (~20min from campus)

•Directions

–I-15 Exit 261

–Go west

–Turn RIGHT immediately onto the gravel road

–Drive until you see a boat ramp into the water.

–There are two boat ramps, the first is the one I like the best.