Thursday I took advantage of the nice weather after work and did some solo kayaking on nearby Center Creek. I haven’t been on Center Creek in a long time so it was nice to get out and revisit this old friend. It’s generally not known as a particularly scenic float stream and the water isn’t usually very clear unless it’s winter, but any river is a nice place to be, especially on such a beautiful afternoon. I actually prefer the stretch of the river from Old 66 down to the Kansas state line, just because I think the scenery is a little more interesting and the river seems to have more “rapids”, but I was short on time today so I did this shorter float upstream.
Here are a few photos from the float I thought were worth sharing:
This was towards the beginning of the float, calm water, big blue sky!
Something I particularly enjoyed on this trip was the mess of dogwoods and redbuds that were blooming along the parts of the creek that had bluffs or hillsides.
Much of this section of the river is flanked with low bottomland woods and fields.
There is a spot about halfway through the float where the river divides into a mess of smaller streams with tight bends that are prone to debris jams, so I never know what to expect when I get there. I had to get out and port around it, but it’s a pretty spot with a bunch of islands.
Here is a black and white image of some tree canopy as I got closer to home.
Another B&W, typical scenery along Center Creek on a nice afternoon.
