Today the weather was nearly perfect. It was sunny, in the low 70's and very low humidity. I had a haircut this morning and when I arrived back home, my husband Mike had the canoe ready to go. I had wanted to go for a canoe ride ever since Sarah and the kids took the canoe out a couple weeks ago. http://cabincountess.blogspot.com/2013/08/our-traditional-august-outing.html
They paddled, but we did not. We took an old peoples trip on the river. This is what Mike did. He bought a canoe mount and installed it on the canoe, then he mounted a small trolling motor and connected it to a battery and off we went. No paddling necessary.
When we first took off I didn't think the motor was working. It was going so slow and with no noise, but it was working, so I sat back and enjoyed the view. All I needed was a parasol. If we were young and had a lot of energy, we could have paddled faster. We were heading into the current so that slowed us down a bit. In fact, the first part of the trip took 65 minutes and the trip back with the current only took 35 minutes.
I wanted so badly to get some photos of an eagle. The kids had seen one close up. I saw him too, but he saw us before we saw him and he quickly flew right in front of us before I could get a picture. Take my word for it, he was gigantic. I saw this board the other day comparing the wingspan size of different birds.
As we floated along, I did see some fun things.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2Y8pqX5g5PsyeEz84X_7W62gtQ12096e6TJ6uzUyRmHdIDVZjh9dYqa8h-i2kjqFbj869N1cZWG2j3AJuin8vxOVPZpfVWbmEbO-mxEI3aoLVXMLBCcgYYlWjwYMaAafnc31hsUWwFM/s400/IMG_3455.JPG) |
A water snake |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH7N-X18IPtgXdLG-4stw7qTP97jlAub26Jh5hyaAeRSc9c4Ee6GQ33okevnQCvBIQI9aCnx-NBLQ4J2Bh-kdsLSn_0OsDUlkcWZDyecQahbFNf0M6L4mNccIPRqEfHLfCEq_dkRHtGwo/s640/IMG_3458.JPG) |
I saw this ahead. It looked like bubbles in the water |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0nSozDqS5igCJKPCi-iptnk1eGU_rM4x_IV7L6Lwol_LK_IraknF74JTK0b0yfw-r0Vw8Ml0l7uBO-zaWC-S9OQrCgRQaFdlHe-a2Zg5KVpCWKQpJLho6jbnsOusOJOe9tjOWL0a1n68/s320/IMG_3459.JPG) |
It was hundreds of bugs hovering above the water. |
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I saw this little tiny cabin |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsf3xgBhpuhuOeSblI9biCWLvrs4myahPklxIudvhneBAaUYTequQnoF8JDd8acNJYHROIE9MRnrxnWvBqSW_lcRM1RxS_V8lIZRA4W5cCZAXB5YTUGmCW80T883dWqLV34d9IhsF333c/s400/IMG_3476.JPG) |
The marks on the trees mark how high the water was this spring. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZH1kqpawXryQd_jMfE2AAqhlgG-0XpuXbkesd98fql-kytXRSfWq_avIASQa5K_HFHkpc92w9Tek7MaoLQD_rUSDte1pHqmyk2j1gmEUmpjwLj_9YAcot19Xs7_R9t4G45JimSgmPg0c/s640/IMG_3481.JPG) |
This is a Kingfisher. I didn't see the bird behind her until I looked at the photo. It looks like a Cedar Waxwing. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcwLh2WoU7d5bTS91mSH9dCasJg8uEmCSzZAIbp6cElipXjIsEa-qjlo1nJjrSjN8yksWR_6SG6_jDpF1NdXyyHMekWqzidUChOgMqU8esVjVIoeOZKjFf6aqCF_tcNkddas3IuYCKswg/s640/IMG_3480.JPG) |
This old bridge was a Swing Bridge |
This bridge was an operating swing bridge. The Fox River used to be a waterway for big boats which delivered goods to towns along the river.
I looked up the definition of a swing bridge.
This is what I found:
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nbaJwOAp0PE2ZRWryXNSVS5ENQiTDoHuaAPKNLMP3rxgSbw3YyyQmQoVGhoEsrnjKM6aRE8hATWg2jTdc-hkPGw_1r7smSlrxYKpklZzJ3BFehHnp8LBj3WJRMVk97R0C_8KM6cMRuE/s640/IMG_3473.JPG) |
The stone structure that the bridge pivots on. |
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You can see the wheels, gears and the supporting ring. |
At this point we turned around and went back. As I mentioned, the trip back went much faster because we were travelling with the current. As we approached the boat landing, I saw the cross marking the point Father Marquette met with the Indians. It looked very different from the water. http://cabincountess.blogspot.com/2013/05/legend-of-cross.html
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsZZ_s_2p-9dqNwNDZYU8SvV8ULr1rZ6W-JVJEYKEawz7lMFQtstrXE_TVX84PGH41Rq7sa-0bN9b6j6WipZv-j8MxKL1tQhwwC_DF71sIvofCOzXidv5M6d_ELz6WmGg2fBbTpVf-sfk/s640/IMG_3482.JPG) |
Legend of the Cross |
It was a nice day, and I finally got my canoe ride.
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