The Paddling Life

 

It's Labor Day weekend! 😎 Three weeks into school and I'm so ready for this long weekend. It's the beginning of September 2020 and still 114 degrees 😓 here in Phoenix, AZ. My husband and I have been exploring lakes on weekends. We go looking for beautiful drives, cool weather, easy load ins and calm water. We started my husband kayaking in June at Tempe Town Lake. Dicks Sporting Goods had a crazy good sale on kayaks and it was time to get my husband on the water. It was his first time kayaking and he loved it. The water at Tempe Town Lake is pretty calm since there are no motorized large boats maybe a couple small fishing boats. Tempe Town Lake (TTL) is an easy load in at South Shore especially on week day mornings and there is no parking fees. Last Friday we went to TTL and saw about 4 people on the lake. I decided to take my new SUP board out and Mykel kayaked. Weekends in the morning at TTL there are a lot of rowing and sculling crews out. I used to row crew for TTL lake and crew times are early in the morning for TTL and Rio Salado crews. Crews are usually done by 9am. Tempe Town Lake is so close that it's so easy to do a quick paddle in the morning and go to work in the afternoon.

Our second outing on the lake was at Canyon Lake in Tortilla Flats. It is a huge lake. It's a short drive from Phoenix. You need to purchase a parking pass at ahead of time which I didn't know. We were lucky to find a spot on the side of the lake to carry the boats down to the water. Definitely easier going down the lake than carrying the kayaks back up. I'm blessed my husband was able to carry the second kayak while I loaded the truck with the equipment. We went early on a Saturday and the lake was very busy with large boats pulling skiers and lots of jet skis. The water was choppy. We did not make it completely around the lake, it's so huge but we did find some small little coves to pull over and eat snack. A beautiful morning and a couple hours of kayaking on choppy waters equals a good workout and sore shoulders. 

Our next kayaking adventure was a weekend in Greer. My cousin owns the Lazy Trout Cabin Rentals and I always see their wonderful posts about the cool weather. Mykel and I decided to take the dogs (three dogs: Pitbull, Brindle Pitbull and Akita) on their first road trip. It's a four hour drive and the dogs did great sleeping in the back of the 4-runner. We stopped a couple times for potty breaks and dog runs. We made it to the cabin and went for a walk with dogs to explore the cute little town. The following day Mykel and I headed out early to Big Lake up in the beautiful White Mountains. It was about 30 degrees maybe 40 degrees cooler so it was a high in the 70's. We found a parking spot on the side of the lake and carried the boats down to the water. It was a windy day and the water was so choppy. It was so difficult on the lake that as we paddled and paddled we really did not make it very far around the lake. A couple hours on the lake and we were ready for lunch back at the cabin and a nap. 

This past month we've done several lakes in Prescott that we loved. Watson is beautiful with the rock formations, calm water and no motorized boats. Parking was $3 at the time and easy to find parking even on a Saturday afternoon. My friends and I rented a third kayak. The kayak company had the kayak and paddle waiting for us at the shore. The only down fall with Watson was the water is so full of green algae. You definitely don't want to swim. My friends and I pulled over and had a snack. Then we got a little rain in the late afternoon, but we'd been out for a couple hours kayaking and we're pretty ready to head in. As we headed in, it started pouring the whole time we loaded and during our dinner at Wild Flower Bread Co. It was cold and rainy so I went for delicious sweet potato ravioli. So good! Ready for the drive home and the stop to get pie at the Rock Springs Cafe. This place has every type of pie sold in slices and whole pies. A must stop if you're on the I-17. 

Goldwater and Lynx Lake both were beautiful and calm. No motorized big boats on either of the lakes. The first time my husband and I went to Lynx Lake it was a free day at the park. We were able to find a parking spot and enjoyed a very easy load in. Lynx Lake is large lake and we enjoyed kayaking the lake and then parking on the side of the lake. We had some snack. I had a dip in the gorgeous cool water and we hiked the trail around the lake. As we came back from our hike and got back in the kayaks, we had some light rain. Easy load out and time for lunch. Delicious lunch and meet up with my sister in law in downtown Prescott at The Raven. Yummy grill cheese and sweet potato fries. Ready for a nap on the drive home. Mykel had to check out Rock Springs Cafe for his self. More pie! 😋

This last visit to Prescott Lynx Lake was full and $5 for parking. We decided to check out Goldwater Lake. We were glad we did. Goldwater was nice and cool, calm waters and not packed. We had an easy load in and there was hardly anyone on the lake. It's a beautiful park with lots of picnic tables and a trail around the lake. Most of the people at the lake were picnicking or fishing from the shore. We kayaked around and then parked on side of the lake. We had a nice snack. I had a dip in the beautiful cool water and we hiked around the lake. We made it back into our kayaks just in time for the rain to start pouring down. Easy load out in the rain and off we went to check out Mexican food at Los Pinos. We knew we were right near it and a friend of mine had recommended it. We got there and sat in the enclosed patio. To my great surprise my friend who recommended the restaurant was there sitting on the enclosed patio with her friends. We sat, caught up on old times and a delicious Mexican meal. There was finally a bit of a break in the downpour of rain so we headed back to Phoenix. This trip I had spotted an Indian Fry Bread truck at the Sunset Truck stop on the I-17 and so we decided if it was still there I was going to get my fry bread. It didn't disappoint. Indian fry bread with powdered sugar and honey for the win. Especially since the AZ State Fair will not be coming this year and that's the best part about the fair. No pie stop needed this trip. 

Tomorrow I'm excited my husband and I will go the other way up near Payson to Forest Lakes to check out Woods Canyon Lake with some friends that are camping up there this weekend. It's a 2 1/2 hr drive and we will get up early to get to the lake early. Looks like according to the website there is no parking fee at lower level but the small lot fills up quickly. I'm ready! 

More trips to come, as we just purchased a 9 person tent to fit us and the dogs for lots of fun camping⛺, kayaking and SUP 🏄. 

📷 by Mykel Tre Beaton