I had always wanted to kayak from Washington Island to Rock island and sleep on the beach on Rock Island.....so after talking Liz into going with me ,i guess this was the weekend it would happen. It did not go just as i had imagined it but....it was certainly a little adventure neither of us will ever forget.
It was summer, and Liz and I were up on the W. Island again to help with our church's week of VBS(Vacation Bible School). This was nothing new as we had been doing it for years now..it had become the week we put aside for family vacation on the island. Sometimes Katie and /or Liz would come to help with VBS as well( if not working or at camp themselves) and Dave would work around the house on odd projects waiting us for us to finish our mornings at church then off we would go on the boat or other family adventures. I had become a VBS co-coordinator and teacher in the program over the years and the girls helped out wherever they needed help- acting in the skit, assisting with the songs, teaching and Liz even babysat the pastor's youngest
child one year as his wife ran the program . It was fun and we all looked forward to it.
So anyway we had gotten to the island the weekend before VBS as usual to help set up the classrooms and meet with the staff for last minute details. But that Sunday before VBS started( the M-F schedule)I asked Liz if she wanted to kayak with me to Rock island for an overnight camp out on the beach.(Dave and Katie were not along at this time but would come up later in the week.) She probably thought it sounded like a fun adventure so she agreed.We packed up some simple things like: 2 sleeping bags, 2 flashlights,swimsuits under our clothes, 2 sweatshirts and a small cooler with juice boxes and granola bars and we were ready to go . We loaded the kayaks , paddles and life vests in the car and away we went. Jackson harbor was only 10 min from our house on the island on the far north end just across form rock island in the distance.
The paddle from Jackson Harbor to Rock Island was not a very long one, as you could see Rock Island from the coast but... depending on the winds it could be a little work out.Every year they rescue some goofy kayakers who think they can defy the lake and paddle straight across on a windy day vs paddling along the shoreline of WI and then across by way of the shallows (as i always do). If a strong wind comes up, there is no land to stop you till you get to Michigan if blown out into the lake( and yes the winds can test anyone's strength!).I had paddled this many times with Dave to take the hike on the island to the lighthouse and then kayak back the same day but this would be my first time sleeping on the beach and then returning in the morning( to teach at VBS).The evening was beautiful and as we put the kayaks in the water i knew we were in for a mom- daughter adventure....yeah for that!! I always enjoy spending time with my girls one on one- it was such a different experience than when we were all together as a family.
The paddle across was pretty relaxing as the winds had died down lot from the much windier afternoon. We came to a place on the coast of Rock island that we had to portage over a stony point to get past to the sandy beach beyond where i had planned for us to sleep. So as we portaged the boats a few feet across the stones i managed to rock my kayak and get a bit of water into it- no big deal but my shorts were now wet and i had planned on sleeping in them- oh well . Somehow as i fell to the side in the portage i knocked Liz's back pack onto the stones. No big deal either except apparently she had tied her favorite finger ring onto the side of the pack and it had now disappeared into the stones. Liz was MAD at me now !! As it was getting dark and we needed to be making our way to the beach for the night ,we could not look any longer for her ring. (A small thing to some but not a teenager with a favorite piece of jewelry.) Oh well chalk one up to... "oops!" So we got back into our kayaks and paddled on ..me with soggy shorts and Liz with a frown on her face.We had lost a bit of the fun with that portage!
The beach was just a short paddle away now and as we reached the sandy section of the shoreline we pulled our kayaks up onto the beach . After we secured the kayaks on shore for the night we rolled out our sleeping bags and crawled in them( after i removed my wet shorts to a rock nearby as i wanted to keep my sleeping bag dry for the night),and it was already dark. After a few minutes we remembered to look up. OH MY GOSH!!! Our bad attitudes melted away with the unbelievable STAR SHOW we were being given in the night sky above us!! We were on a section of secluded beach with no man made lights in sight and so with this complete darkness the sky was illuminated with layers and layers and layers of stars! It was awesome and beautiful!! Liz and i sat back in our sleeping bags just amazed at the beauty that had unfolded in the sky above us in a few short hours of twilight.Funny how the beauty of God can just draw you in and wash away the world and worries around you. It was more beautiful than i could have ever imagined.What a gift and the silver lining to our camp out!
We tried to be quiet on the beach as there was an actual campground and campers on the island above us on the cliff and i knew full well the park office probably did not allow camping on the beach- but hey...we were without a tent so i considered it "sleeping" vs "camping" on the beach. We would only leave our footprints (and kayak marks) on that stretch of beach.After we settled in a bit we did look around to notice the campfires and lanterns of a few others on the cliff campsites behind us in the campground, but none very close to us that was for sure. We had managed to pick a nice quiet section of beach for our sleeping place. We had a little snack of a juice box and granola bar and fooled around a bit with our falshlights before nodding off that night. Liz played a back and forth flashlight game with another camper who spoted her light and they sent copied light flashes back and forth a bit for fun( my guesswas it was probably a child looking for some fun).I was glad we had come - I knew this would be a special memory for us both.It was a beautiful,peaceful night and the freshness of the air was amazing, we would have no trouble sleeping here!
Well don't speak too soon!! I was suddenly woke up the next morning very early with dark clouds,lightning and sounds of thunder across the bay over Washington Island!! Oh NO...we better get going fast... as that storm may be moving our way! And with storms come wind!! So i quickly woke up Liz( it was only about 5am) and when she saw the dark storm clouds and lightnening over W.I. well i saw a bit of fear come over her face. We packed up quickly and slid the kayaks back into the water and paddled toward the stony point we had crossed the night before.A quick portage and then back into the kayaks. Now going out into the bay the wind was certainly picking up and it was ten times the job of paddling from the night before. It was the kind of wind that if you stop paddling to rest your hands a bit, well your kayak blew back a bit too. So there was no relaxing with this kind of non-stop paddling all while viewing the dark clouds and lightening ahead over W.I. Liz started to cry a bit as feeling the stress now and she was afraid she may not be strong enough to paddle through it, so i tried to reassure her that she was doing fine but also reversed the order of the kayaks getting mine to the outside of the bay and behind her ,as if corralling a baby horse. I was hoping it would make her feel safer but she would still have to paddle like the dickens! I knew she was strong enough but the fear of the moment had paralyzed her a bit as the dark clouds and lightning were very pronounced now.We both paddled hard and reach the inlet to the bay at W.I., thank goodness. Now I knew we would be OK as no rain or lightening was by us yet.
The thing about WI is that you can see storm clouds on the other side of the island but feel no rain although it may indeed be raining somewhere on the island. It is kind of like the effect weather in the mountains. I have seen many storms simply pass over part of the island and then go off into Lake Michigan without feeling a drop. I have been golfing where it was raining on one hole but not another, or pedaling on my bike as fast as i could to out chase a storm cloud that suddenly appeared but never got wet after all!! So i knew we had a good chance to get back to shore before the rain hit and that would greatly reduce Liz's anxiety. In the middle of all this craziness we did get to experience the most glorious FULL RAINBOW over the entire harbor as we paddled into the bay at W.I. It was tremendous!!I think it calmed me a bit by its beauty and perhaps Liz too! It was a spectacular sight i will never forget as long as i live!
We paddled hard and made it to shore just as the rain started. We pulled the kayaks up and i ran to get the car. As i saw the car i reached down but then discovered than in my haste to leave Rock island i had also left my wet shorts with car keys in the pocket on the rock on the beach!! What?? Now what?? I wanted to get Liz out of the rain and we both had to get back in time for VBS later that morning?! Now i was mad at myself for not thinking through all this- or at least listening to the marine forecast the day before. Oh well- should haves, would haves, or could haves were not going to help me now! But i WAS very thankful that at least we were back and safe!! Thank you Jesus!!
AHAAAAAAAAAAA... a light bulb moment!! There was a phone booth near the harbor(as it is by the town dock where visiting boats often dock overnight) and since our pastor was also our best friend on the island i felt i could call him for help. This phone booth( in the island way) did not require coins for local calls-i do not know how they managed that but i was again thankful!So i called Pastor Dale and he offered to not only come to pick us up but gave me his car for the morning if i just dropped him off at his house(as he was going to be busy with VBS anyway and they lived just next door to church where VBS was held).So we left the kayaks and i just grabbed our backpacks and life vests and away we went. After dropping pastor of at his house we went home and Liz jumped into a hot shower as she was wet,cold and tired. After we changed clothes i offered to take her out for breakfast before VBS as a bit of an apology to this crazy ordeal i unknowingly put her through.Then we were off to VBS.
I had planned to take the passenger ferry back over to Rock Island to retrieve my keys later that afternoon when VBS was over for the day but after talking with pastor he said i could just call the park office on Rock Island and they could look for my keys and send them back by ferry. I thought that a bit presumptuous on my part and when i called later they said they had not found my keys and i would have to come look for them. So after VBS i did take the ferry but I only had to walk up to the park office near the dock to inquire about my keys and YES! they had them found them for me afer all! Wasn't that nice!! You gotta love small town friendliness!. I wasn't even sure how to explain where on the beach we had been( and of course there was no mention of sleeping on the beach that night before just a simple i had left my keys in my shorts on the beach!) I then took the ferry back to WI and loaded up the kayaks to take them home. I don't remember how i got the pastor's car back to him , perhaps they just gave me a ride to the ferry dock after VBS.
Oh well here in ends this crazy tale of kayaks,wind and water, stars and rainbows, fear and delight and a mom-daughter adventure that we will never forget!! I don't think Liz ever liked kayaking after that but i am happy to say she went on some great canoe camping adventures with her high school and later even co -led a canoe camp at a camp she worked at in Alaska many many years later ,so..... maybe from all that crazy kayak ordeal there lingered a bit of awe and adventure and some good memories after all!!
