The Fog

This was a small creek that led from the Black Warrior River and I think if you paddle far enough it takes you to Lake Tuscaloosa.

The cranes would never let us get close enought to get a really great shot of their fishing.

They finally flew away when we intruded too much on their personal space.

I love the look of tangled roots on the creek shore.

This was at 9 in the morning and we came across a pocket of fog on the water. It was so cool, I love fog. I can say we really hadn't expected to see fog on such a warm, late morning.

Paddling through the fog it was noticabley cooler in this area then the 90 degrees it was everywhere else.

Of course when you were in the middle of the fog you couldn't see it anymore. I had to paddle out of it to get shots of my Hunny Bunny hiding in the fog.

Apparently this portion of the creek gets close to the police department's gun range so we decided after a few loud gun firings that it was time to head back to the main river just to be safe.

I wish I knew the name of this little creek. While I could find it on the map, I couldn't find a proper name for it.

One of my favorite shots of the day. A tangle of tree branches down in the water surrounded by fog.

Our First River Paddle.

We went for our first paddle down the Black Warrior River.

The barges coming from Nucor steel plant are a big reminder of the steel plant just off the river.

I've lived near the plant all my life and never payed it much mind. It looks quite different from the water.

Just past the plant there is a smaller creek, I guess you'd call it. It was quite nice and quiet.
The creek was like a different body of water all together.
I'll post more of the creek pictures in a later post.

Mom Goes Paddling

I talked my Mom into paddling with us. Big surprise, she agreed! Even bigger surprise? We made it without anyone drowning.

Mom was a bit worried about all the motor boats out on the lake. Despite her worries, she put her big girl pants on and paddled on.

My little bro is such a show off. "Look Ma' I can put my feet out of the boat".

We paddled from Binion Creek out to Treasure Island again. It is an easy paddle for someone paddling for the first time. The park allows for a nice rest point to get your bearings and prepare you for the paddle back to the boat launch.

Look at Mom, handling it like a pro.

I must show off my Five Fingers. I'm not a fan of just hoping out of my kayak in bare feet. There are always the unknown just laying in wait to poke you in the foot. I tried out a pair of those cheep water shoes and they got tossed first trip. Flip flops are just a bit to flimsy. My Five Fingers have been very nice. They are tactile enough that I can feel the inside of my boat, they dry quickly, they fit snugly so they don't allow much sand in to irritate my feet, and they keep my feet safe from ouchies.

Little Bro Goes for a Paddle

This is my little brother's first paddle. We bought him a cheap Pelican boat from Academy Sports (against the recommendation of our sales person in Fairhope. She says these boats fall apart quickly).

For now this little Pelican is all he needs. At 16 he is pretty ruff on any gear, our thoughts are the cheaper the better. Considering it constantly leaks and the screws fell out of his foot peg rail the third time he used this little boat I can say you get what you pay for.

He thinks he's pretty cool in his own ride though. For our first paddle out with him we went to Binion Creek boat landing and paddled to Treasure Island park. It is a very slow hour and a half paddle from the boat landing.
He spent our time on the beach trying to catch the fish in the water that wanted to nibble your toes. To date, the fish are still winning.

This is the usual 'razzy' picture you get of my bro when he is looking.
One of only a handful of pictures of us together. He's such a brat.

My Hunny Bunny paddling back to the boat launch after our afternoon paddle.

Paddling Tuscaloosa

Living in Tuscaloosa we have access to all kinds of bodies of water. Why not take advantage of it all? I started my search for a kayak about two years ago. I started looking at all the usual sporting goods stores and at all the usual cheap kayaks. I soon learned they were basically bathtubs and I wanted no part of them. The closest proper kayak shop is about 4 hours from our home. We made the journey to Fairhope Boat Co. We soon purchased a pair of Wilderness System Tsunamies, a 135 for me and a 145 for my husband. I'm quite smitten with my new kayak. I can also say I am quite smitten with the kayak shop, you couldn't ask for more knowledgeable and helpful people.


The purpose of this blog is to share what I find around our local waters. The view is quite different from the water then from land. My main paddling grounds are Lake Tuscaloosa and the Black Warrior River. I plan to share my experiences on the water along with as many pictures as I can stand to take. Hope you enjoy. Feel free to suggest local launch sites or places to paddle. I'm always happy to try new places out.

Our very first launch on Lake Tuscaloosa at Sharpe's Landing

Our maiden voyage in the lake.

I have a tiny passenger on my deck rigging. It is a little dragon fly.

It was a great first trip and not even 24 hours after we got our boats home.