Palm Springs - On the Water

Yep, we usually take hiking adventures but today we’ve decided to take a kayak adventure, out on the Salton Sea. Lots of RV’ers have kayaks tied to the top of their tow car and enjoy kayaking. Gary and I have never gotten into that and figure that, if we ever do, we can rent kayaks wherever we go. But, yesterday a the Salton Sea SP, we signed up for the guided kayak tour of the shoreline of the Sea with all the birds which winter along it. One kind of bird which winters here are white pelicans.

We relaxed around the RV in the morning but headed out about 10:45 for the 60-minute drive to the Park. It was cool, in the 50’s but sunny and the wind on the sea had calmed down. A gorgeous day for a kayak trip. We both had hiking pants, long-sleeve t-shirts, a wind shirt and a ‘base-layer’ turtleneck. We had taken gloves and ear warmers but did not need them in the sun. There was one other couple - he was in shorts (imagine that) who were in separate kayaks like we were and another couple who were in one kayak and a single woman along with two from the park.

The Salton Sea is an inland sea with an interesting history. It used to be part of the Gulf of California near where the Colorado emptied into it. Then silt built up and formed a natural dam making the Salton Sea an inland sea rather than part of a larger bay. At this point, it is saltier than the ocean and, because it is inland and not fed by any river or other continual source of water, it is evaporating. Then, because lots of agricultural land does drain into it, it has a lots of chemicals and this is depriving the main fish of the Sea, the talapia, of oxygen and they are dying. However, there are still loads in the Sea and many fishermen ply the shores. 

Many studies have been done on how to save it but it’s all about the money and money is scarce.

First, of course, we had to get some instruction on how to paddle. Both Gary and I have kayaked before but it was a long time ago and we appreciated the instruction. In the picture above we are on the beach all decked out for a day on the water. You can tell that the temps were a bit cool since we’re all dressed in layers and in warm clothes.

It was difficult to hear what the docent was saying since he kept ahead of most of us and we’re spread out over a bit of distance with our kayaks. I’m not sure I learned much about the birds which winter around here but I certainly relished the chance to be out on the water for a different view of the area. The whole trip was 2 hours long and we cruised along the shore for a while. Then the other two couples wanted to turn back and took one of the park people with them while we and the single woman stayed with the docent and cruised some more. Lots of the time we were just enjoying the time on the water rather than talking about the birds.

I spotted those balloons out on the water and retrieved them to take back to shore for the trash. Looks like I’ve got the ‘Party Boat’ here.

Finally we had to head in. When we got back to the small harbor where we had started, the trick was to paddle as fast as we could towards the ramp to get enough speed to get as far up the ramp as we could. Then we cleaned the kayaks and took off back to the RV.

Fun day and interesting adventure.

I found one more picture from our slot canyon hike yesterday to show how slotty the canyon really was. Here’s Gary shinnying through without his pack on since the pack wouldn’t fit. This is a narrow canyon but then that’s the thrill. Slot canyons are narrow, windy and then they'll open up to a large wash. Shortly after that, they'll narrow again. It's this undulation that makes them interesting.   Of course, hiking a slot canyon during a rain storm is treacherous. The water flows off the hills and down the walls into the slot. Where the slot narrows, the water flows high and fast.