I sure get some strange and quizzical looks as I pull into a desert town looking for a motel room, buy gas or stop at a place to have something to eat.  Why?  I have a kayak tied on the top of my car and there’re no lakes, ponds or rivers for miles and miles.  It doesn’t make much sense to those onlookers, but it sure does to me.  Kayaking on the Rio Grande River in St. Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park (www.nps.gov/bibe) on the Texas/Mexico border makes carrying the kayak for thousands of miles worth it.
    That’s usually my destination after being in the warmth of the Florida Keys for January and camping in the Everglades for February.  I went on to southwest Arizona from there and sometimes my meandering takes me to the Mojave Desert, Las Vegas, Valley of Fire, Nev. the north rim of the Grand Canyon at Toroweap, and southern Utah with Bryce Canyon N.P., Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument, Capitol Reef N.P. and more.  I’m always looking for a new place to put my kayak in the water, so nature can exhibit what she shows to those of us who can traverse the shallows where only a kayak can go.  The places that work best for me are those where I can make a circular route or parallel a road, so I can walk or bike back to my car.  The water needs to be fairly calm, have islands nearby or something to show me, and give me a way back.  
    My favorite kayaking spots include the Florida Keys (there’re lots of places along US Rt. 1), the Turner River in Big Cypress National Preserve (www.nps.gov/bicy/), and of course, St. Elena Canyon, where I paddle to beat the desert heat, relax to the calls of the canyon wrens, and have a delightful lunch on a rocky ledge over the river. Other great spots include: Loxahatchee N.P. west of Ft. Lauderdale (very wild to be so close to a city), the mouth of the Suwannee River (lots of wild pigs, sharks and oysters to gather) and St. Joseph’s State Park (the bay has lots of conchs that taste like big scallops) in Florida’s panhandle.
    Last year as I drove along the Mississippi’s Gulf of Mexico Coast and found that state’s Creole Nature Trail.  I’ll be paddling there next March.  There’s a lake south of Aravaca (a Don’t Miss spot itself) that’ll see my kayak then, too.  Who knows, I just might make the north rim of the Grand Canyon in 2010’s Adventure and find a place where I can paddle around there a little bit at the Page, Ariz. end of the Canyon.  No, I’m not doing the length of Canyon like all those crazy thrill seekers who brave the twenty foot waves of Lava Falls.  Many do it, so the guides must make it work, but not me!   Sensationalism or thrill seeking is not why I go kayaking.  Close enough to touch, really get a good look at it with no binoculars needed is what I look for.  The kayak’s purpose is to get me to where I can see what amazes me, so I can experience, examine and photograph it.
    When taking photos from the kayak you need to remember you are always moving, not stationary, so there will be lots of “camera shake;” a shutter speed of more than 1/250 of a second is needed to stop the movement. A camera or lens with image stabilization will help, too. Calm water is necessary to photograph the bottom critters. Ripples will blur your image.  A polarizing filter will help cut surface glare and reflections, too, but take your polarizing sunglasses off, because they will prevent you from seeing the filter’s effect and you will set it wrong.  Once you’re in your computer’s digital dark room, open an image of a water’s bottom in photoshop, then press the control and L keys at the same time. It’s what I call the magic key. It instantly brightens, polarizes, and clarifies the image!
     I kayak starting at the bridges in Islamorada at Whale Cut (MM 84) and near Robbie’s Restaurant (MM 79) or behind the library and paddle on the Florida Bay side to the islands and Ligumvitae State Park, where there’s a lagoon at the end nearest the bridges, that’s like a big aquarium.  I’ve watched many types of fish and birds, jelly fish, sharks, dolphins, electric blue puffer fish, star fish, man o wars, groupers, frigate birds, white herons, king conchs, sea slugs, blue and spider crabs, and a crocodile and more there, around the other nearby islands and Robbie’s.  The Turner River is where I run the Mangrove Slalom by grabbing a branch or root and pushing off in a zigzag fashion through the tunnel. It’s great fun. That’s after I paddle through the alligator herd!
    There’re more pics of where I paddle and taken from my kayak @ http://picasaweb.google.com/o.c.fotoguy2009.  There’s still time to set up a Family Photo on the Beach here in Ocean City, just give me a call at 410-289-7339 and check out my web page @ PHOTOSAsYouWantThem.biz