A Day on the Water (At Last)

It has been 2 Dec of last year since we have had the kayaks in the water!  Since arriving here at Patagonia we have been wanting to get to Patagonia Lake State Park about 6 miles west of us to do some paddling.  Finally we thought the weather matrix was aligned for us, it was our day off, it was warm, and no crowds at the popular state park.  We loaded the kayaks back on the Hullavators and headed to the lake.  The boat ramp was empty, the sky was clear and the sun was shinning warmly on us!  (We ignored the chilly water, as we were not planning on being in it on this day!)

The launch ramp at Patagonia Lk State Prk

We dropped the kayaks in the water, moved the Jeep to parking and headed out of the cove where the boat ramp was!


Patagonia Lake is not a large lake but is longer then it is wide!  From the dam it looks like a "Y" with two "legs" breaking off from the main body of water. The lake was formed in the 1950's when Sonoita Creek was dammed up to create a recreation area.  The shoreline was formed as the dammed up creek filled two canyons behind the dam.  That made for some interesting shoreline scenes.  The canyon walls dropped directly into the water most of the way around the lake.  Plants and cactus grew right up to the waterline!  

Shoreline

There was some beach at the far end of the lake away from the dam, but that was about all.  Water sports like boating and fishing, skiiing were popular as was kayaking.  We saw another couple kayaking and I expect as the weather warms, and especially on the weekends, it will be more crowded then we saw it on a Tuesday.





  

More shoreline!

BJ on the water!

We paddled west toward the dam enjoying the kayaks, the sun, and the views.  At the dam which is a very simple affair we met some other water lovers that were hanging out around the dam enjoying a day at the lake.

My kayaking buddy!

Some more fun guys at the dam!

He is thirsty!

So after about an hour on the water the wind suddenly picked up gusting hard from the west!  I had to paddle hard to get back to the cove where the boat ramp was and BJ had been in the other leg and was being driven by the wind againest the bank rather then in the direction of the cove.

However, we both made it back and we loaded the kayaks and headed back to the RV.  Despite the rough ending we enjoyed our time on the water.


Always at home, no matter where we are!!