Dam Good Kayaking on Skokie Lagoons

Glencoe, IL–What a treat! Record rainfall covered the Skokie Lagoons dams, making it easy to access all ponds without portaging.  I paddled from the Tower Road boat launch down to the Willow Road dam first.  Cormorants fished in their usual spot at the far south pond.  A great blue heron eyed me from his perch [...]

The Skirt is Off!

When the temperature hits 90° plus, it’s time to ditch the spray skirt.  Head out early, keep to the shadows, and paddle out in the Skokie Lagoons on a hot July day.

Lots of fishermen: a baker’s dozen of blue herons doing their goofy, loping head forward walk in the shallows, a family of mallards, a tern diving [...]

Final Kayaking of the Season

Glencoe, IL–The great blue herons, black-crowned night herons, and cormorants flew south some time ago.  Their favorite trees, denuded of leaves, no longer buffer the traffic noise from I-94.  Bikers whiz past on the nearby trail.  Ah, what a difference a season makes in the Skokie Lagoons!  Kayakers were out for exercise, not bird-watching.  Sailors [...]

Four Bobber Day at Skokie Lagoons

Glencoe, IL–It’s a four-bobber day at the Skokie Lagoons.  Collecting the lost fishermen’s bobbers makes great sport.  Just paddle up to the floaters, snatch it, and put a notch in your belt.  Besides the bobbers, there were lots of great sites, too.  A momma painted turtle and her baby sun themselves on a rock.  Mom [...]

Cormorant…or John Oliver?

John Oliver c The Daily Show

Cormorants on Morro Bay C Mike Baird

Winnetka, IL–Another gorgeous day at the Skokie Lagoons, with very few paddlers or even fishermen.   The kayak slices through water so still it doesn’t seem solid.  Then a painted turtle pokes his head up to see what’s disturbing the peace and hurredly [...]

Great Blue Heron in Skokie Lagoons

North to Alaska

 Winnetka, IL–This time last month I was in Alaska, working on a road trip article.  Today a kayak trip in a local lagoons made me think of my kayak trip in Kachemak Bay, where this eagle roosted on a jutting log.  That day with A Seaside Adventure (www.seasideadventure.com) was filled with sea otter [...]

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