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Saturday, February 13, 2010

A flash back to an earlier Florida trip


Sometimes when the weather is cold and the skies are overcast, my mind wanders back to more pleasant conditions and favorite adventures on the water.  This is such a day and as I relax with my feet up in front of the fireplace, I find my mind taking me back to a paddle trip on Turkey Creek in Palm Bay, Florida.  My daughter and son-in-law had come from South Carolina for a visit to the old man.  With both of them being avid kayakers, it was only natural for them to bring their boats down with them.  It was a perfect Florida day with the sun shining and the warm weather so we loaded up the roof racks and headed a short way south on US 1 to the end of Turkey Creek where it empties into the Indian River.  Turkey Creek is one of those best kept secrets for paddlers because the waters are protected from the harsher conditions found in the more open waters of the Indian River. 

We launched at the public boat landing at Turkey Creek Park and began the meandering journey back up the creek towards the dam at Lake Washington.  There are a myriad of channels a paddler can take with each joining up with the others at some point.  It can be confusing but other paddles have posted directional signs at some of the intersections to help point the way.  The waters were glassy with only a slight breeze to help cool us off as we glided through the variety of landscapes the creek offers.  At times, there are houses with docks lining the shore, other times you can find yourself completely surround by the most natural environments unique to the Florida waterways.  Since the waters are only minimally effected by the tides, there is always an abundance of wildlife just waiting to be observed or photographed.  Sometimes it is the uniqueness of a dock owner that provides interesting views to the passing paddler.  On one such dock we came across an odd collection within an old crab trap with a discarded baby doll peering back at us from within the trap). 


Further up the creek, it winds through a housing neighborhood created back in the 70's by the now defunct General Development Corp.  They had a reputation of selling lots sight unseen to buyers in cold northeast areas.  Their presentations and photo's made it all seem like a paradise and people bought into it in droves for a while.  Once they made the move south to Palm Bay, they found extremely poor constructed houses build with an emphasis on cost cutting.  Outwardly, it still presents itself as a nice Florida getaway but the homes have changed hands often and much self improvements made by the owners that stayed.  Regardless of the exploitation of the land and waterways, Turkey Creek is in pristine condition and aside from seeing mostly manicured back yards, the wildlife is still there.  The warm waters of the creek are a favorite of manatees, those slow moving, lovable creatures also known as sea cows.  They are often seen just below the surface of the water, swimming slowly and grazing on the vegatation on the bottom of the creek.  My daughter had been watching all day in hopes of seeing one but no such luck up to that point.  We rounded a wide sweeping turn in the creek and came up to a "Y" where one arm went down to a dead end, but still gave the lot owners waterfront (back-yard) access.  All at once, the was the manatee she'd been looking for.  At first we weren't sure what it was we were seeing because the creature was 1/3 out of the water and grazing on the tender grass shoots along the water line.  As we paddled closer, we realized it was a large female manatee who had found some choice tidbits to graze upon.  It is rare for a manatee to come out of the water like that, thus a real treat for us and a perfect picture opportunity.  As my daughter paddled slowly to get a closer view, the manatee would slide back into the water and swim to a safer area.  The lure of the sweet grass and realizing we were not a threat, she returned to the bank for more grazing.  It was a truly unique and memorable experience and one my daughter (or the rest of us) will not soon forget.

Once past the housing development, the creek again becomes a nature perserve.  Paddling along and observing the banks we saw footprints of raccoons, otters, birds and even a few alligator slides in the muddy banks.  The closer to the dam we got, the quicker the water flowed and we had to pull a little harder on the paddles to move ahead.  We had not seen a soul the entire time out on the water but as we rounded another bend, we met a kayaker coming the other direction.  She was moving along briskly and obviously had made the same journey we were on but had started her paddle considerably earlier in the day.  The current was assisting her and there was a brief exchange of "hello's" and "it's a beautiful day to be out here", then she was gone as quickly as she'd arrived.  As we neared the waters around the dam, paddling became more difficult and we decided to turn back and let the current push us home.  The paddle back to the launch area took us much less time than the paddle out, but it was even more relaxed as we sat back in our boats with our feet dangling in the water.

By the time we reached the public boat landing, traffic on the creek had picked up considerably and we had to share the waters with other canoes, kayaks and powerboats.  With the kayaks securely lashed to the roof racks, we were on our way home, tired but filled with long lasting memories and photographs of a perfect day on the water.
   

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