Today a new friend, Steve Dotson, called and wanted to use Adventure Mendota’s park shuttle service. We’ll allow someone to park here and we’ll assist them with shuttle service for $10 per watercraft.    Steve has his own kayak, and after a long, cold winter, he was ready to do some serious fishing in the North Fork.   We told him the river was pretty murky and that we weren’t yet open but if he wanted to come, we’d practice parking/shuttling on him because we were going to be around.   He must have had a bad case of river fever because our pretty river was having an ugly day.   Murky!

He was not deterred.

Mayhe he just wanted to show off his fancy Old Town kayak.  I don’t blame him.

So anyway…he unloaded the kayak and Mike was going to just follow him down and bring him back for his float.   I told him that since he had such expensive gear, I’d just hang out on the river and take pictures and keep an eye on things.   I really wanted to sit in the kayak when he wasn’t looking.

I didn’t have my cell phone to take a selfie, but I was sitting on the kayak when this picture was made.  I was thinking how cool it is that this kayak has a lock area.

Yep…I was feeling pretty cool.  Just looking around pretending I’m riding in a $1300 kayak (even though it’s on grass)

And then I started to get up and COWABUNGA!!   I had hooked myself on the back of my sweatshirt with Steve’s fishing poles.   Crap!!  Now I’m stuck.  I tried to unhook myself.    See the sad story in the picture below?

I was only hooked one time but when I was turning and twisting trying to get the hook out of my shirt, I hooked myself two more times.   I started hoping someone would drive by.  Nope…all I saw was this…a tree.  “Tree…can you help me?”

I started to pick up the fishing poles and try and walk out of the kayak, but I started thinking that if this kayak cost $1300, the poles were probably a kagillion dollars and…well…it would all be a bad idea.  So I waited.

Mike and Steve finally got back.   I was still in the kayak.    Steve had to cut me loose.  He was worried my old red sweatshirt.   Are you kidding?  Just get me off this kayak!

He got things ready…we don’t even have a ramp fixed yet.

But a true outdoorsman…he did not care.

Bet he’s thinking…they really need more practice and I hope I catch something other than her!

Hope he had a great day “Fishing on the Fork!”  Update…he sent some pictures.  He did have a good day!!

And…here’s another one….there were more…but I thought these two were the prettiest.