Early Morning on Lake Monona

Some photos from a sunrise paddle on Lake Monona's Bay of the Indian Woman. August 15, 2009.

The whole batch of 70+ pictures are over on photobucket, including more shots of that Great Blue Heron hanging out on a private pier just west of Madison's Paunack Park.

It's the Lakes, Stupid, Part 2

Public-private cooperation has yielded a great new resource for local waterways. Paddlers will especially beenfit from this new 44-page guide. You can download it at www.danewaters.com
or you can get a printed copy for $5 at any of the Take a Stake in the Lakes events. The guide includes water trails that include launching points and highlights, both historical and current.

Isthmus had a good article on the guide.

Big dap (that's hip lingo for 'props', which used to be hip lingo for kudos and so forth) to the following partners who produced this guide:

Partners in the Yahara Waterways Water Trail Project:
Capitol Water Trails
Dane County Environmental Council
Dane County Lakes and Watershed Commission
Dane County UW-Extension
Friends of Lake Kegonsa Society
Mad City Paddlers
Madison Audubon Society
River Alliance of Wisconsin
Rock River Coalition
Rutabaga
UW-Extension
UW-Extension Environmental Resources Center
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

First Paddle of the Year

Hit Lake Monona in my kayak for the first time this year about 8:30 a.m. A little brisk, but I stayed upright so it was a good paddle. I like to put in at the end of Winnequah Trail and paddle through the canals to the Bay That Shall Not Be Named. There's a little channel just south of Frost Woods Beach and I saw at least 40 turtles sunning on downed trees - I think they were midland painted turtles.

I also saw some mallards - birds not the baseball team.

It's a good time to get out on Lake Monona and the bay before the milfoil and other junk gets too thick.

What are your favorite places in the area to paddle?