Sunday Afternoon

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Yesterday, I offered to take my husband up to the Dan River so he could run one of the less popular stretches in one of our Kayaks. He decided that he wanted to take the dog and go to the lake instead. The lake is closer to our house and since we set in and pull out at the same location it would be possible for us to both get out on the water. I suggested that it might be too busy. Summer weekends are always a popular time for people to get out on the lake and yesterdays beautiful clear skies and temperatures in the 90s made the lake particularly appealing. We arrived at the entrance to the public boat launch and parking area to discover an overflow of vehicles parked out on the road approaching the entrance to the parking area and all along the driveway leading to the launch. My husband decided that, maybe, the Dan River was a better idea. In an attempt to keep me from having to drive far he decided that maybe the run from Hanging Rock State Park to Moratock Park wouldn’t be too busy. I convinced him that it might be wise to check out the situation at Moratock (the ONLY place in the area that I know of where there is room to picnic and it is possible to swim without having to pay a fee). The picnic area was swarming with people and the river itself was choked with a mix of swimmers from the park and tubers coming downstream from a couple of miles upriver (there is a company that rents tubes and has a private access launch area above the park). Suddenly, doing the Hanging Rock run didn’t look very appealing. Fortunately, the stretch downriver from Moratock is a little less popular. He was able to spend an hour paddling and only crossed paths with a dozen or so other people. I got the easy job. I drove our trusty old Toyota Sienna to Snow Creek and after rifling through the collection of maps in the seat pocket (I’d left my phone and my book at home) I went down to the river to wait for him. The water was a little higher than it usually is this time of year. The rock I normally sit on to wait was slightly under water. No problem I sat in the water and enjoyed the peace and tranquility of having the spot entirely to myself for a good half hour! I don’t like crowds...and I’m much better at avoiding them than my husband is! Do you like crowds? The photo is my husband kayaking the Dan River a couple of years ago. I couldn't get a new photo because I didn't have my phone.