Tag Archives: Elbow

Sunken History

TheElbowFrenchRiver_1469

Thursday morning of our three day French River trip to The Elbow was a little calmer. The waters were quiet in pockets. At the edge of the beach at our campsite was a piece of machinery sunk in the water. Don and I could see the remains of a boiler. There was a drum with gears at each end. Probably for holding cable. Where we were camped was were the loggers released the logs from the booms. The logs were then sent through the Dalles Rapids to continue the journey to the river’s mouth.

So I set up the scene with the rusted out equipment in the foreground. The green of the trees and their reflection created a frame of sorts. The reflecting rocks added contrast and depth to the composition. I had to quickly set up for a shot as the wind came back within minutes.

Thursday night after we had crawled into our sleeping bags, Don and I were treated to a display of lighting and thunder. It rained quite heavy. When the next morning arrived everything was very wet. The trees were dripping and the wind was picking up. We had breakfast and were soon loading the canoe for our journey home. As we launched the canoe the skies were getting darker. After a half mile of paddling the heavens opened and it did not take long before we were soaked. There was some lightning and thunder in the distance, but it was soon heard no more. We were going with the wind this time, so that was a bonus. We made it back to Hartly Marina in good time. Just a bit stiff and wet.

The gear and canoe were loaded into my Ford Explorer well it was raining. I paid our bill before heading to The French Trading Post for some hot soup and coffee. We had a great trip. I am looking forward to doing some more exploring on the French.

A friend of mine Ray Thoms has published an interesting book called SUDBURY -A Retrospective View, comprises of a series of images that show the evolution of our City over the years. More info can be obtained on Ray’s site here.

http://sudburybook.com/

I will be in Killarney this coming weekend at the Killarney Art Show.

More info can be obtained here.

http://www.killarneyartshow.com/index.html

Well that is it for this week. Thank you for stopping by and visiting. Thank you for the comments.

Until next time Happy Trails

The Elbow,French River

TheElbowFrenchRiver_1436

Received a phone call from a formal co-worker about going out on a 3 day canoe trip. Don Dupuis loves the outdoors, camping and canoeing. Don is also a member of the Search and Rescue Group. I suggested that we float the French River down to The Elbow. Don agreed and on Wednesday July 17 we arrived at the Hartley Bay House and Marina.

I payed our fees and we loaded up the canoe. It was a beautiful sunny day and hot. There was a chance of rain and thunderstorm activity in the forecast  for the three days of our trip. It was 10:00 AM when we finally launched. As you paddle the French River you soon come to realize that this is not a small river. There are so many islands and bays to explore if one had the time. I  estimated that we had approximately seven or eight  kilometers to reach our destination. The wind was blowing towards us, but light. At about three kilometers from The Elbow we landed on an island to enjoy a shore lunch. As we ate the wind was picking up pretty good. So heading down stream we were now paddling into a strong wind that would gust from time to time. I have to tell you we where glad to spot The Elbow and look for a campsite. We chose campsite 625. It had a nice sandy beach. Don and I quickly unloaded the canoe and unfolded the camp chairs. A rest was in order. We both were feeling sore and hot. Must be getting old.

We finally got the campsite in order. It was time for a swim to cool off. That evening the wind was still blowing good and no possibility of photographing. The next morning we headed down to Dalles Rapids to explore around. Don and I pulled into the portage and walked it through. Then we hiked along the ridge until we came back to Dalles Rapids. We filtered water at the rapids as we had drank everything the day before. We returned to camp and after supper returned to Dalles Rapids for a little fishing until the sun lowered before doing some photographing. I managed to catch a couple smallmouth bass. The above composition is a result of my evenings photographing.

I was really turned on by the rock structure I found here and I had a large bent tree to add to the composition. There was beautiful detail and color to be had as the sun lowered.

Well that is it for this week. I will be in Killarney this weekend at the Killarney Art Show. For more info check here.

http://www.killarneyartshow.com/

My photo daybreak went live a week ago at the Exposure 2013 Exhibition at Long Island City New York.

I had an interview over at Exhibitions Without Walls that is now posted.

http://www.exhibitionswithoutwalls.com/?page_id=5934

So until next time happy trails