Index of States Kayaked by Charlene Swankie

I DID IT!  Finished the 50th State, Hawaii, on my 70th Birthday, almost a year ago now.
This is a work in progress… I will also add elevations.  I am also updating the state pages with more details.  (updated 5/7/2015)

State	Order	Date	Location	Elevation
Alabama	46	10/23/12	Justins Bay, AL (solo)
Alaska	49	8/20/2013	Holgate Glacier, Holgate Arm near Seward, AK
Arizona	2	06/2009	Watson Lake / Vickie Walker; Cibola NWR (N.P.)
Arkansas	43	10/7/12	Beaver Lake (solo)
California California2	1	3/2008 ? ? ? 08/30/2009 08/03/2009	1) Monterey Bay(many times) 2) Morro Bay (fb) 3) Spooners Cove @ Montano de Oro State Park (fb) 4) Elkhorn Slough 5) Gold Lake (fb) 6) West Shore of Lake Tahoe(*maiden voyage) / Elle Beals (fb)
Colorado	39	10/11/11 and Summer 2012	Jackson Lake State Park nr Orchard (solo) (*Pelicans) Meadow Creek Lake nr Rifle (solo)
Connecticut	20	10/25/10	Put in @ Westerly, RI and paddled back and forth from CT-RI down to Little Narragansett Bay. (solo) (*Swans)
Delaware	23	11/02/10	Cape Henlopen @ Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge-put in @ Boat Ramp Access Rd. (solo)
Florida	29	11/26/10 12/19/10 12/30/10 10/?/12	1) Santa Fe River @ Columbia State Park, High Springs / Judy Luke family 2) Cedar Kay /Gary Lepak 3) Ichetucknee Springs State Park/Gary Lepak 4)   (solo)
Georgia	28	11/16/10	Tybee Island (solo)
Hawaii	50	5/16/2014	Off Maui	/sons
Idaho	6	10/18/09	Upper and Lower Priest Lakes (solo), Priest River, ID	Moose Family Video
Illinois	36	09/23/11	Lake Shelbyville (solo)
Indiana	35	08/19/11	Lake Monroe @very large boat launching area off Hwy 446 (solo)
Iowa	37	09/28/11	Clear Lake @ McIntosh Woods State Park (43.12237,-93.45856) (solo)
Kansas	41	10/02/12	Wilson Lake @ Wilson State Park – Otoe Launch (solo)
Kentucky	34	08/18/11	Fredericks Landing, Wilder, KY Boat Launch (solo)
Louisiana	47	10/25/12	Small unnamed pond/marsh nr Hwy 190 and Hwy 90(Chef Menteur Hwy) east of Slidell (solo)
Maine	17	10/12/10	Long Pond on Mount Desert Island, Arcadia National Park (solo)
Maryland/DC	24	11/02/10	Put in @ Ocean City Municipal Airport on Sinepuxent Bay… near Mystic Harbor & paddled across to Assateague State Park/Island (solo)
Massachusetts	19	10/21/10	Secret Lake in Athol / Kay Gleason
Michigan	14	08/31/10 09/05/10	1) Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary @ Alpena (solo) 2) Launched @ Gross Isle (solo)
Minnesota	12	08/03/10 08/07/10	1) St. Louis River @ Floodwood (solo) 2) Ely – Boundary Waters Canoe Area (solo) (write up BWCA)
Mississippi	45	10/12/12 10/24/12	1) Sardis Lake @ Engineer Point Public Use Area 2) Pearlton
Missouri	44	10/09/12	Coombs Ferry Public Use Area, Blue Eye, MO (solo)
Montana	7	10/19/09	Flathead Lake (solo), Lakeside, MT
Nebraska	38	10/10/11	Lake McConaughy, Ogallala (solo)
Nevada	3	08/25/09 12/03/09	1) Cave Rock, NV (solo) 2) Callville Bay Marina @ Lake Mead (solo) fb
New Hampshire	16	10/19/10	Harriman Reservoir in S.W. corner of state. Rt. 9, Molly Stark Trail.
New Jersey	22	10/27/10	Sandy Hook nr Fort Hancock @ Gateway National Recreation Area (solo)
New Mexico	40	10/15/11	Lake Caballo nr Truth or Consequences  on Rio Grande River (solo)
New York	15	09/25/10	Grand Island @ Beaver Point / Matt Beals
North Carolina	26	11/10/10	Jordan Lake / Judith Sookne
North Dakota	11	07/28/10	Langlier’s Bay on Lake Oahe (solo)
Ohio	33	07/28-29/11	1) Mad River / Cheryl and David Simmons (6.5 miles) (fb) 2) Buck Creek State Park lake (solo)
Oklahoma	42	10/06/12	Robert S. Kerr Reservoir @ Sallisaw Creek Park (Cherokee Nation) (solo)
Oregon	4	08/31/09	Siltcoos Lake, OR (solo)
Pennsylvania	32	07/24/11	Loyalhanna Lake. Camped @ Bush Recreation Area (solo)
Rhode Island	21	10/25/10	Put in @ Westerly, RI and paddled back and forth from CT-RI down to Little Narragansett Bay. (solo)
South Carolina	27 or 28?	11/13/10	Folly Beach (solo)
South Dakota	10	07/28/10	Missouri River on Lake Oahe @ Mobridge (solo)
Tennessee	30	07/18/11	French Broad River to Nolichucky River nr Newport / Leadvale @ Rankin Bottoms. (solo)
Texas	48	10/30/12	Mountain Lake nr Grand Prairie (fb)
Utah	8	11/02/09	Quail Creek Reservoir nr St. George (solo)
Vermont	18	10/19/10	Harriman Reservoir, nr Medburyville (solo)
Virginia	25	11/05/10	Kayaked here. First Landing State Park @ Broad Bay N.W of Virginia Beach .(solo)
Washington	5	09/9-15/09 09/9-15/09 09/12/09 07/01/10	1) Elliott Bay @ Alki Point  (solo) 2) Wenatchee – Turtle Island @ Lincoln Rock State Park (solo) 4) Port Angeles / Gary Lepak 5) Port Townsend /Gary Lepak (fb) 5) Port Angeles / Gary Lepak
West Virginia	31	07/23/11	Sutton Lake (solo)
Wisconsin	13	08/14/10	Apostle Islands National Lake Shore, north of Bayfield, WI (solo)
Wyoming	9	07/23 or 25?/10	Big Horn Canyon Recreation Area @ Horseshoe Bend Lake(solo)

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42nd State: Oklahoma - Robert S Kerr Reservoir (Oct. 6, 2012)

Finally found a place I like, the Robert S Kerr Reservoir, just wish the weather had been better.  The Sallisaw Creek Park belongs to the Cherokee Nation and it is FREE.  For more photos, click. There was one group of people there, and a couple in a tent, and there were 3 horses grazing in the campground proper.  Love it. 

I highly recommend this spot.  Unlike the Tenkiller Lake, the shorelines were natural and undeveloped.  That’s my kind of kayaking.  Didn’t see another soul on the lake.

Now, pray tell me, how can it get any better than that???

It was a cold and grey day, not great for photos, but I’ll do my best.

My rig, parked along the shore, bathrooms in background.

According to my bird chart, these are American Coots??? 
Never saw one before.

Never saw a Mullen plant going like this.

Biggest lily pad I ever saw.

Taken from shore after I got off the water.  So many kinds of waterfowl, I couldn’t even sort it all out.

This sign was at the entrance and I guess that’s the caretakers house in the background.  I liked the sign.

OK, OK got it’s Swankie Wammie.  On to Missouri.

The Oklahoma Dilemma!

Goal was to visit one of my campers from my host job in Colorado and then kayak Tenkiller Lake  (maybe it’s the name KILL HER?).  Oh well… got to see Bev anyway. .. and Loyd… and meet their little grandson, Holt.

Saw these deer as I left Bev’s place…

Weather was turning and I headed on out the same day for Tenkiller Lake. I was not happy with the Tenkiller Lake spot I was directed to in Oklahoma and am heading out to find a spot I like better. I need rural, not urban locations to enjoy my kayaking.  I am not sure what bothered me about the area… maybe if the sun had been out I would have felt differently.

I found another spot on Tenkiller Lake that I thought would work for me... but was still uncomfortable. Lots of trailer parks, permanent camps at commercial campgrounds along the lake shores, small churches of every variety all over the place (more numerous than homes and I always wonder WHO the congregations are!!! Where do they come from???  How can such a sparse neighborhood support so many churches???)  And llama farms, goat farms, shacks and mansions… all mixed together.  A bit too motley even for me… the most motley kayaker of them all.

My schedule was blown away by the storms two years ago and I had to skip these states and now I'm determined to finish my goal of kayaking all the lower 48 states this trip. I have other goals to move on to. I can't keep coming back here hoping for good weather. If I have to do a cold wet windy paddle... I will. I’m prepared for it... but GREY doesn't make for very good photos.

Most of my kayaking locations, I just run into... so I'm running a bit n.e. of here... toward the corners of MO and AR and hopeful will have OK, MO and AR all done in the next few days.  Might even treat myself to a show in Branson MO.

Moved on to Sallisaw OK and will try the Robert S Kerr Reservoir when the weather clears up. Safely parked at a Wal-Mart with a casino and a truck stop nearby. There was nothing back there by Tenkiller and I felt very uneasy in that area. You know what they tell us... if you have that feeling ... LEAVE.  It feels safe here... and it might be a day or two... so I can work on projects and have my needs met without having to drive great distances.

We will see what tomorrow brings.  I did stop at a yard sale and found a very nice coffee table book on Hawaii (which will be my 50th state) for only $1.

41st State: Kansas - Wilson Reservoir (Oct. 2, 2012)

Boy is Western Kansas flat… about like eastern Colorado.  All my life I have heard the phrase “High Plains”  as in High Plains Drifter, etc., but never knew what it referred to until this week.  After you pass through the Rockies and emerge out the East side (Front Range)… the land flattens out, but elevation is still over 5,000 ft..  (i.e. the High Plains). 

It was windy as heck and I almost lost my bike off the bike rack.  I think someone unscrewed the bracket and tried to remove the bike, but the bike lock wrapped around the bracket/rack/bike frame hampered their efforts. I didn’t check before I began driving again, until I saw the cover flapping in the high winds… and then found the bike just resting on the edge of the rack with the front wheel resting on the frame of the trailer.  That was just too close.  Now I check it every time I stop and about every hour if I am driving longer distances.

I noticed changes in the crops… sorghum fields seem about ready for harvesting, sunflower fields look pretty dried up and flower heads smaller than I have seen them in the past.  And oil fields are popping up everywhere, along with wind turbines all over the place.  Winds… nope, don’t want to kayak in these winds.

Made it to Hays, KS and overnighted there.  On to Wilson State Park the next day… to blue skies and low winds.  Hooray… a good day to kayak. Wilson State Park is located on the south side of Wilson Reservoir.  The park is divided into two areas:  Hell Creek and Otoe.  I picked Otoe to launch from.  There are striped bass and small mouth bass in the lake as well as white bass, walleye and other fish.  I saw some jump out of the water… seemed the size of an elephant.  And, lots of waterfowl…lots (gulls, Canadian geese, Western Grebes, storks and cranes and even a Cormorant).

I launched from the Otoe Area between the Goldenrod and the Yarrow Campgrounds.  No people around.  Was greeted by a flock of Western Grebes as I launched.  

Next I saw Canadian Geese along with a lot of sea gulls. 

		Waterfowl of Wilson Lake, KS VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I headed out toward the middle of the lake and then spotted the Wilson Dam at the far end (Eastern end I think) and decided to head toward it. 

This image or file (above) is a work of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers soldier or employee, taken or made during the course of the person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.

See, I like to go someplace and then return, making a loop.  All together it was about a four hour paddle… and yes, I’m out of shape.  Believe I could fit about 100 of the little Meadow Lake from CO into this Wilson Lake (I’m gonna compare the sized and do an overlay of the two lakes just for the fun of it).  My shoulders and back ached before I got back to my van. 

Van?  Where is my van???  Oh, finally, there it is, the white speck on the horizon.  I thought I spotted the shoreline pretty well when I pushed off but as I headed back in, I was disoriented… thinking I’m too tired to have to paddle around here looking for my van… then I spotted it and felt so relieved.  First thing I had to do was eat lunch (at 4:30PM), and rest, then load up and head south.

Have abandoned the idea of having the kayak and gear on top of the van (just too darned much work) and loaded it all back into the trailer.  Less wind resistance that way, hence, better gas mileage.  My new kayak cover (homemade) is not holding up well to the sun and wind… so it is all better inside the trailer.

Grebes taking flight – Swankie Wheels in the background.

The strangest things I saw:  1) fence posts made out of limestone slabs and 2) eroding banks along the shoreline (100 miles of shoreline) revealing roots of trees.

		Limestone Fence Posts VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Limestone fence posts.

The following taken from ksbyways.org brochure:  Miles of stone fence posts stand as a tribute to the ingenuity of the early settlers.  Facing a lack of trees, the innovative farmers and ranchers quarried rock to creat the fences they needed, which today have become a trademark of the Smoky Hills region.

They call it “post rock.”  Today, I learned something new.

This one below was near my friend Bev’s home in Oklahoma.

Eroding Shoreline

Today I head on into Oklahoma to put the Swankie Wammie on some unsuspecting body of water for my #42 state paddle.  And today my son (in Washington state) heads into surgery for a new hip!!!!  Thinking of you Richard.  Hope your hip results are as fabulous as my knee results.

Next State: Oklahoma