Late in January 2009, Orchid Outrigges took Katie Rupp of Las Vegas out on the estuary for a photo paddle. What a pleasure! Katie is very accomplished in a number of different endeavors, not the least of which is her success as a mother and a grandmother. She has lived in areas as diverse as the Aluetians and Hawaii and continues to enjoy her passion for world travel, visiting Africa for her fourth trip as I write this.
We arranged to go out on a Wednesday, but we were greeted at the Pasadena Street landing by a stiff wind out of the north and a choppy bay. While considering our options, an Osprey flew low over the landing with a flounder the size of a dinner plate in its talons. As Murphy's Law dictates, neither one of us had a camera at the ready. I would describe Katie as "ready for anything," so we decided to launch despite the rough conditions and see if we could find some smooth water and willing photographic subjects. It was not to be. The wind shifted to out of the east and got even stronger. So we decided to try again the next day.
Thursday the weather cooperated and we had a great day, paddling to the southern end of Morro Bay. As the tide rose we reversed course and headed into the salt marsh. There was much to see and photograph. Here are a few of the images Katie captured that day - click on the image below to see six more pages.
In her last communication before she left for Africa, Katie said that she's looking forward to her next trip to the Central Coast and wants to go for an afternoon/sunset paddle into the marsh. We're certainly looking forward to having her on-board again.
