Mosaic Monday #20: Drowning Oreos

Fishing poles, the lines carrying droplets of water back to the source.  Dragonflies flexing their wings in sunbeams while tenderly perched on a lily pad.  Fingertips trailing in the silky coolness of the lake as it swishes past the prow of the kayak.  Swallows swooping over the mirror surface of the lake, momentarily reflected and then gone again, rising to the sky with insect prey pinched securely between upper and lower beak.

These are just a few of my memories of an August day on Monroe Lake - August 1, 2017, to be precise.

At that time, we were still living in the Whitefish townhouse and regularly traveling 1 hour each way to the home build site.  As Monroe Lake is less than 2 miles from the new house, it was an ideal candidate for kayaking, especially on a day when we would already be inspecting progress on the new home.

Therefore, we had planned several times to kayak here, and one thing after another came up.  The worst was July 30 - we sweat in the non-stop Montana sun while cleaning up the build site, and had even changed into our suits before we realized that Spousal Unit's fishing pole had remained behind in the garage at the townhouse.  Aaarrrggghhh.  I was SO ready for an afternoon on the water.

So, Take Two - the next day.  A sublime afternoon. To access Monroe Lake, you launch on Ashley Creek and make your way through what I termed the "delta", a maze of thick cat-tails.  I made one wrong paddle, and Man with Hat had to push me through the forest of reeds.

Once on the lake, we were greeted by a pair of loons and a young 'un.  The parents called mournfully to each other throughout our time on the water.

Man with Hat concentrated on fishing; he caught and released a dozen small perch.  An osprey circled periodically - I envisioned it was hoping for an easy handout ...

I paddled the circumference of the lake, taking in the lily pads and other aquatic plants.  The water was so clear I could see the stalks of the lily pads stretching to the muddy bottom.









Two deer approached the water's edge, but retreated into the woods when they saw me.  In hindsight, this spot was near the location of my video of deer crossing the frozen lake, 17 months later.  Just a coincidence?

Monroe empties into Ashley Creek straight ahead in this shot

My kayak is in roughly the same location where I saw the deer walk across the frozen lake in January 2019

A giant mound of a beaver lodge anchors one side of the delta, almost like a sentinel marking the way to the creek.  Another, smaller lodge is nearby, snuggled up against the shore.  In my wild imagination, I see the second generation of beavers setting up house in a "starter" lodge!





Five days later, kayaking was a family affair on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.  #1 Son served as steerman for our kayak, and Man with Hat led from the back with #1 Son's rookie girlfriend in the second inflatable - yes, her first time ever in a kayak!

Man with Hat fishing the Flathead River

The Flathead delivered for her - an eagle and an osprey, wildflowers, and fish.














Paddling the 11 miles from Paola Creek to Cascadilla Creek was technical - low water levels meant protruding rocks a-plenty!  Inflatable kayaks deliver many advantages, but nimble steering is not one of them.

Lower right: Western White Butterfly on Canada Goldenrod

So it was that #1 Son and I found ourselves wrapped around a small mountain (ok, it was a rock), and that rock partnered with the flowing water to tip us into the brink.  Fortunately, we escaped with nothing more serious that a scrape on his arm.

Oh, and we drowned the Oreos.

Mosaic Monday

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