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Life is Golden said:
Wow, islands too? Sounds like it could be a real adventure.
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You have no idea. lol We went to Apostle Islands Natl. Park (located near Bayfield, WI) one summer (2008). Part of the vacation included kayaking to Oak Island, and camping out for two days. It's ~10 miles from the beach at Bayfield, is forested, has a small ranger house and only three campsites for the entire island. Little did we know that you cannot trust the marine forecasts for Superior. We left at 11am, just as a large group of kayakers were coming in from that direction. That should have been a clue. lol I kept telling Mr. Owl that I didn't like the looks of the sky; that the clouds told of a storm coming in. He assured me that the marine forecast said winds at ~5 knots and seas of <1 foot. So I stupidly listened, and we set out. Oh, and I had food poisoning from a gas station sandwich, so was puking over the gunwale too, to add to the adventure.

At any rate, about an hour into it the winds came up strongly out of the NW. The waves of course did too. They were sweeping across the kayaks' decking and rocking us like mad. It was all I could do to keep pointed into them so as not to be rolled. We came in sight of some cliffs at the shoreline. We decided to head that way just to get out of the wind for a bit. We were still over five miles from the island. There was a tiny sandy pocket beach that I landed at and hauled my boat up. Mr. Owl kept heading along the shoreline, I dunno why. I was exhausted from being sick and battling the waves so laid on a boulder and fell asleep in the sun. Woke up an hour later and he wasn't around. Got back in boat, paddled up and down the shoreline, couldn't find him, started looking for debris like maybe his hat floating, or something. There was nothing. A couple of distant sailboats went by but didn't see me waving at them. Had a cell phone but no signal. It was far too rough to head back to Bayfield.

I had the tent, a sleeping bag, matches, and freeze-dried food in my compartments so figured I'd be okay to spend the night if he didn't show up. You can just guess how scared for him, and also pissed at him, I was! Eventually another sailboat came by, much closer than the others. I waved and waved at it, and it stopped and just sat there. Behind it came a Zodiac boat with some CG guys in it. I waved at them too. They called out with a bullhorn and asked if I was okay and was I lost. I yelled "No, I'm right here but my husband is lost!" They asked could I come out to the Zodiac.

So I repacked everything and paddled out there and tied up and got in. They asked what my name was and his name too. Then they said he was on that sailboat. I said: "No, you don't understand. He was in a kayak and got lost in the windstorm, and I couldn't find him." They insisted he was on the sailboat, but all I could see was a curvy young lady wearing two bandaids and a thong waving at the Coasties while they waved back. Then Mr. Owl's head popped up and he waved. That dirty rotten scoundrel!

So at any rate, the sailboat ppl and their adorable teen daughter who had no clothing tied our boats to theirs and carted us to within half a mile of the island; the water was too shallow to get any closer. We camped for two days and it was a lot of fun. He got to see cute bikini girl and I got to hang out with some equally hot young Coasties. lol

It's a beautiful place, with sea caves that you can kayak to and go inside of. We also did a sailing lesson on a large sailboat! O Captain, my Captain! lol

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What a great story and picture. You are much braver than me! I would have been terrified, totally. The good thing is, I assume you aren't bothered by gators and snakes in those bodies of water. I bet you haven't attempted anything like that again. Are the sea caves dangerous to go into, as in can you get lost in them?
 
Life is Golden said:
What a great story and picture. You are much braver than me! I would have been terrified, totally. The good thing is, I assume you aren't bothered by gators and snakes in those bodies of water. I bet you haven't attempted anything like that again. Are the sea caves dangerous to go into, as in can you get lost in them?
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No, not at all. They're basically just hollowed-out places in the rocky cliffs that don't go very far into the rock. You wouldn't want to paddle near them -- or near the cliffs -- during a storm because of the waves. But on a typical calm summer day it's perfectly safe. Here's a pic I took from inside, looking out:

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No -- no gators or snakes! We have kayaked on some Missouri rivers where snakes, esp. cottonmouths, are a problem. You always want to use a spray skirt so that they can't get inside the cockpit. Some ppl will carry a .22 pistol. I just paddle really, really fast. lol

It's not bravery really. It's a lot of fun to be able to go places where most ppl don't. We've kayaked in Alaska as well, in Prince William Sound, Sitka Sound, Eklutna Lake. At Columbia Glacier, PWS, out of Valdez:

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Anyone can do this stuff! Getting outside of your comfort zone can be kind of scary but in the end the adventure is SO worth it! Are there any adventures or vacations you've thought about doing? Or that you've done? Tell us!
 
ThatOwlWoman said:
No, not at all. They're basically just hollowed-out places in the rocky cliffs that don't go very far into the rock. You wouldn't want to paddle near them -- or near the cliffs -- during a storm because of the waves. But on a typical calm summer day it's perfectly safe. Here's a pic I took from inside, looking out:

9Sw812Y.jpg


No -- no gators or snakes! We have kayaked on some Missouri rivers where snakes, esp. cottonmouths, are a problem. You always want to use a spray skirt so that they can't get inside the cockpit. Some ppl will carry a .22 pistol. I just paddle really, really fast. lol

It's not bravery really. It's a lot of fun to be able to go places where most ppl don't. We've kayaked in Alaska as well, in Prince William Sound, Sitka Sound, Eklutna Lake. At Columbia Glacier, PWS, out of Valdez:

ucvWVjZ.jpg


Anyone can do this stuff! Getting outside of your comfort zone can be kind of scary but in the end the adventure is SO worth it! Are there any adventures or vacations you've thought about doing? Or that you've done? Tell us!
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Wow, how exciting. I see you believe in living life to the fullest. And it is bravery. But those caves look really cool. No, I haven't done anything close to that and probably never will!
 
ThatOwlWoman said:
Have you been in any of them? Caves are outside of my happy place, but we have visited a couple of them in Missouri. The underground, drippy, dark, scary kind, that is. Not sea caves.
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We have been to visit caves all over the world. None open to the public are dark and scary. Fla. caverns is really neat as it has lighting but the paths aren't paved gives on the feeling of exploring without the danger. In Germany we went to one cave that had a village ruins inside. That was pretty cool.
 
Grumpy said:
We have been to visit caves all over the world. None open to the public are dark and scary. Fla. caverns is really neat as it has lighting but the paths aren't paved gives on the feeling of exploring without the danger. In Germany we went to one cave that had a village ruins inside. That was pretty cool.
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I wouldn't mind those kinds of caves. The ones in Missouri are limestone, drippy and damp, and very dark. There is lighting so that you can see the rock formations, which are really cool. But inevitably the tour person has to show us how dark it really is down there and turns off everything for a minute or two.

I would love to see the caves with the Stone Age paintings in them, in Europe. Have you ever seen those?
 
ThatOwlWoman said:
I wouldn't mind those kinds of caves. The ones in Missouri are limestone, drippy and damp, and very dark. There is lighting so that you can see the rock formations, which are really cool. But inevitably the tour person has to show us how dark it really is down there and turns off everything for a minute or two.

I would love to see the caves with the Stone Age paintings in them, in Europe. Have you ever seen those?
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I honestly don't remember we toured the caves in the early 70's.
 
ThatOwlWoman said:
Oh ugh! I like seeing them flying at night, but not up close and personal like that. Mr. Owl loves caves and spelunking. Not for me!
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The idea is interesting but actually going into them is a bit too much for me too. I like to stick to fear on a movie or tv screen only.
 
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