ANOTHER March Paddle

With the weather being so nice again it didn't take much convincing to go kayaking again. Temperatures were up into the 60's. Pat and I again met at the causeway and headed upstream. We started along the Pierre shoreline and after getting beyond town we switched over to the west shore. The temperature was noticeably cooler on that side, near what amounts to an island. In fact, it dropped from about 60 along the east shore to about 50. The water was still around 37 degrees and the wind was nearly non-existent. The water was clear and we could see fish at different times. Which would explain why we were not alone on the water. At least half a dozen boats had taken off from the same place as us. Walkers and bicyclists were all along he path next to the river. Something we had not seen much of the other times we have been out.

There was a noticeable current so the trip upstream took about an hour and 10 minutes to get to a point beyond the island where several people were fishing. It appears that this point is about half way between the causeway and the Oahe Marina. On the return trip we took a slightly more direct route and with the current only to 50 minutes to get back. Total distance traveled was about 5.7 miles.

Here are a few pictures of Pat, the dam in the distance, some of the houses in Pierre and the railroad bridge.