Mr. Athena and I took the kayaks out on the big lake today. We had originally been heading to Greenwood Reservoir, a lovely, island ridden reservoir about 30 minute away. We decided to drive the 2 minute to the big lake before heading inland, and once we got to the parking lot, decided to paddle around Marquette bay instead.
We put in at the Picnic Rocks parking lot. They’re called rocks, but they’re really rocky islands. I’ve been looking at Picnic Rocks my whole life. You can see a picture taken from the parking lot here. We got in, and paddled down to McCarty’s Cove. Not wanting to brave the waters on the other side of the lighthouse, we turned around and headed the mile or so back to the rocks. Once there, we decided to head between the two near rocks.
As we threaded our way through them, I glanced at the rock on my left, and saw three juvenile mallards all in a pile, sound asleep. I passed as close as 5’ to them, and they didn’t wake. I continued through, and to my amazement, saw a fourth island hidden behind the first two. Forty or fifty seagulls were standing there, and as I approached they all took off into the air. They floated along next to the water for fifty yards, then exploded upwards into a ball of seagulls.
I’ve been at the Picnic Rocks parking lot thousands of times. I met one of my first boyfriends there. I’ve sat in my car gazing out at the lake hundreds of times. I remember parking there the first time Mr. Athena visited Marquette - a cold December night when we were headed to the nearby ice arena to see a hockey game. When the game was over, we battled our way through snow and ice and wind back to the car. All that time, there were four islands out there, and I’d never known it.
In looking around the Web trying to find the photos to link to this post, I found that the remains of an ore boat that sunk in 1920 is not too far from where I was today. A buoy marks it. I’m going out tomorrow to find it, weather permitting.
Kayaking rocks.