Onion River Exploration Project: Two for One

Throwing sand

Day 5 (6/18/15)

Our plan had been to get up and head to Mauthe Lake for some kayaking but as we were getting ready our son called and asked if we would be interested in going hiking with his family at Harrington beach. We decided we would try to do both so we could spend some time with our grandson, Wade. It was a great day for a hike. The weather was cool but not cold and there was a slight wind to keep the mosquitoes at bay. We started out around the quarry lake. Wade is almost two now and gets very excited about any kind of exploring. He would prefer to walk the whole thing but for safety sake, especially around the lake, he had to be in his stroller. There were a lot of fish close to shore so you could see them swimming around which thrilled him. It is just fun seeing things through the eyes of a two year old. After we made the loop around the lake we headed for the beach. At first Wade was very apprehensive and didn’t even want to walk in the sand. With a little prodding from his Grandmother he was finally convinced that water and sand were just about the coolest things in the world. By the time we left he was covered in sand from head to foot. I can’t wait to get down there on a warmer day. We got home from Harrington around noon, had a quick lunch and headed out to Mauthe Lake. Last summer we didn’t get a chance to do a lot of kayaking and we are hoping to remedy that this summer. The last time we were there we had come across a narrow entry way into a spring fed creek that branched off from the main river channel leading into the lake. We were hoping with all the water we had been having that it would still be open. At first we thought we had found it and it was impassable but on further investigation we found that it was the wrong inlet and we were able to find access. Once you get a distance up the channel it is like a whole different world. It is so peaceful and even the wind seems to be calmer. The main attraction however is the boiling springs themselves. The water is only a couple of feet deep and crystal clear so you can see the hundreds of little bubbling springs all over the bottom. My guess is that the bottom is very deceiving and what looks like the bottom is only the top of a much deeper layer consisting of suspended particulates much like quick sand. Next time I may have to experiment with my paddle. We spent well over an hour at the springs videotaping the bottom and later trying to get a picture of some tree swallows that were flying in and out of a hole in a dead tree. Finally we reluctantly paddled back down to the river. We were slowly drifting down the river when Eileen gasped and pointed at a Blue Heron that was standing on the bank not three feet away from me. Unfortunately by the time we collected ourselves and got the cameras out, it was taking off. We spent a little time trying to get in range to take another picture of it but couldn’t really get close again. It was starting to get late and the wind had changed direction so we decided to start heading across the lake and home.