Coupon Bight and Salt Run Channel

Coupon Bight above. Salt Run below

.Friday, November 26, 2010. The day after Thanksgiving.  Instead of catching the grey men as  they dive from the fourteenth floor, I went kayaking.  Coupon Bight, off the north end of Big Pine Key.  A place I have seen Key deer on 4 prior visits.  Saw one crossing Long Beach Road on the way in.  At the end of the road, a new, unwelcome sign.

As no one has warned me, yet, I launched the yak into the Atlantic.  Like Thursday, it was windy.  Paddled into the wind, along the shore for a while, then turned back.

Into the channel linking the ocean to Coupon Bight.

Saw a couple small sharks in the clear, shallow water.

 Hey, hey, hey, it's Fat Albert.

I did not see any Key deer from the yak.

On the other hand, I only saw two people.  Fishermen in a boat.

In addition to the birds shown, magnificent frigate birds circled high overhead.  Too high for a picture.

Landed at 11:30.   Thirty miles back to Key West.  Got my stuff from my nephew's house, and headed to my sister's where I spent the next two nights. Perfect timing, arriving at lunch time.  My Mom getting to dote on her two new great grandchildren.  And grand children. And children.   Mom was heading home, that's why I was moving into Monica's office/guest room for the duration of the holiday. When my sister took my Mom to Key West International, I took the kayak to a wide spot of the Salt Run Channel for a quick paddle.

The Salt Run Channel links the Ocean to the Riviera Canal, and the Salt Ponds.  I wanted to head to the big water in the limited time I had before dark.  Entered a gap in the mangroves, dead end.  Came back to the pond. Entered the next gap.  Ended back in  the pond.   Forget it, I'll head south to the Riviera Canal.

There seemed to be lot of coconuts in the water. The result of two windy days?

Ibis at the Hamaca Park dock.  My turn around point.  No time to find the gap in the mangroves that leads to the Salt Ponds.  Back in Salt Run Channel.

Back to the pond, I had a d'oh! moment.  As the Salt Run Channel went south from the west end of the pond, it also went north from the same side.  Soon I was under North Roosevelt and in the Ocean.

5:35 too dark for good photos.

The osprey made quite a splash when it dove from the power pole.  My position, on the north side of the Island, was no good for seeing the sunset.  I did see two pair of mating horseshoe crabs in the Salt Run Channel.

Dinner was, of course, leftovers, at a friends of Monica and Bill.

Long Key State Park

Stopped to kayak at Long Key  State Park on the way to Key West to celebrate Thanksgiving.  A wide selection of birds, above, and family, below.

Home from Key West, time to tell the Thanksgiving Tales. 

  I was on the road before 6 am Thanksgiving morning.  Stopped at John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo for the first time.  Intended to kayak, but once I saw the east wind blowing the waters from Largo Sound through the narrow launch area, I decided it was not a good day to explore Pennekamp.  Back on the Overseas Highway.

35 miles later, I stopped at Long Key State Park.  Figured the trail in the shallow lagoon "Long Key Lakes" 

would be a good windy day paddle.  In the water around 11:30.

Went off the Trail, down Zane Grey Creek to Long Key Bight.  The rough seas caused me to turn back as soon as I took the above photo.

I saw a few distant white shapes as I launched, unknown ibis or egrets, a few kingsfishers, cormorants, and an ibis.  No photos.  Had to take a pic of one of the vultures circling the nearby landfill just to get a wildlife shot.

I was approaching the launch site when investigated those distant white shapes.

The white shapes were snowy egrets. With blue and tri colored herons.

Ibis, too.

For a paddle that had no birds for 90% of the trip, it ended up well.

Landed about 1, 20 minutes later, was driving across the Seven Mile Bridge.

On Big Pine Key, I saw a Key deer on a side street as I drove on US 1. First one I've seen other than on Long Beach Road and Coupon Bight.  I think I got to Key West and Bill Rowan's open house, pot luck, about three.  I brought beer and pie.  Those of you reading this for kayaking Tales, I now move on to family photos.

 I had turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, stone crab, oysters and a clam. Had to save room for desert. Brownie and blueberry pie.

Afterwords, I hung out at the Santa Maria, with my sister Clare and family.  Nice place, but Jets fan Aidan needed a place to watch the game, and the hotel does not have the NFL Network.  Arlo and Evan suggested Jack's Flats.   I wonder if the name is from all the flat screen TVs.  Great place to see a game. 

I spent the night at Arlo's and Ashley's.  Rested up for day two of my four day Turkey Day weekend.