We're the Fagawi: Trinity Lake Day 2

After a long day of rowing (see previous post), we read a bit, struggled to stay awake and I searched in vain for the Australian Open tennis semi-final or finals on TV. We watched a bit of the classic first Bond movie, Dr No. This movie, which has more stars than a Trinity Lake night sky with no moon, isn't really relevant to this rowing post except insofar as it affected Robert's whistling. Whistling is one of Robert's myriad skills; he is able to whistle almost any tune on pitch after hearing it just once. He doesn't know what he's whistling, but before you can say "Parrot This", he was reproducing "Under the Mango Tree" from Dr No in flawless fashion. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to row near him if he whistled that all day long.

The next morning we awoke to dense fog. Would we be able to row? Beth and I savored our coffee. Plenty of time for some slow-cooked steel-cut oatmeal. Maybe the Australian Open would be on now? Nope. After prolonging the coffee ritual and perusing the maps for future rowing adventures (maybe Lake Oroville or another part of Shasta Lake), we made our way down to the lake. Only we couldn't see much of it. Below is a photo of my wife, Beth, on the water's edge.

There is a lake there, really.

After some debate, we decided to launch and take it easy. Easy is not actually a word in Robert's vocabulary, but he was the guy with the GPS in his boat, so we felt compelled to keep up with him--as long as he didn't whistle that freakin' "Under the Mango Tree".  Below is Robert, with his GPS mounted in front of his left knee.

We're the Fagawi

Trinity Lake was not quite full, so there were several islands not represented on maps or GPS. We had to pay close attention! We headed up the Covington Mill Arm, and suddenly we started to break through the fog. A bit of a breeze accompanied this. It made for some magical moments.

The fog lifts...

And, then we started to look around and see more breath-taking Trinity Alps views. I really wanted a large zoom camera right about then. But, it's hard enough to take photos while twisting in the breeze as your boat and oars pivot, let alone worry about losing an expensive camera in the water.

Oh my...

As the fog cleared, the lake became glassy once again and mountain views abounded.

Does it get much better than this?

We returned the way we had come and then extended our row up another short arm. Here's our Day 2 route. My Stroke Coach read a little over 27k for the day and almost 68k for the two days.

I am told that we enjoyed exceptional conditions these past two days--warm temps and almost no wind. The boats and jet skis stored near the boat ramp tell a story of what it might be like in the summer months.

Home Again, Perchance to Dream of New Adventures
After loading up, we decided to drive a different route home via Gazelle-Callahan road. Most scenic. We discussed how many others in our club would join us on these adventures and what we might do to make this happen. Certainly, we have made some announcements, but trips like these require considerable schedule flexibility and spontaneity (sometimes you have to seize the moment because of weather and other conditions), willingness to row in a fatter boat maybe (not always), row in a different venue, and not always have perfect accommodations. We'll keep trying. In the mean time, I am grateful to my wife and Robert for being eager co-conspirators.