Follow Your Nose to the Boat Launch
by Denise Janus

Today we started canoeing at about 11 a.m., putting back in at Otter Creek.  Karen Sanborn came down and canoed the first mile with us, then drove the Expedition to the public boat launch at Bay Harbor Marina. It was a little windy but a pleasant temperature.  We could see off in the distance a rainstorm over the lake, and an island and a freighter off to the right.  The skies were cloudy and we ran into some pretty heavy waves that thankfully were going the same direction we were.  We canoed 12 miles, making a wrong turn into an abandoned marina where the water was just five inches deep in spots and the docks were above our heads. It was apparent this place had seen more profitable days before the water level dropped.  Chris ran in and found an older gentleman who said we were the first ones to dock there in years.  We contacted Karen on the walkie talkie and figured out where we had to go -- the next marina south. When we took off we were running aground for a while, trying with everything we had to gain momentum and get into deeper waters.  We finally arrived at Bay Harbor Marina where a dead raccoon greeted us with the stench of decay. 

We pulled out of the water around 3 p.m. and headed back to camp, and what’s new, it rained some more!  Karen stayed and we all had dinner -- the rest of the chicken stew that Dr. Vogt made the night before. 

Ever since Will and Laura found walls to our dining tent we’ve been able to stay dry, warm, and out of the wind.  On any other warm day camping beside the lake would have been paradise, but we had the lake wind which made it somewhat miserable.

We have gone about 60 miles to this point.