Water rattling by

I had watched the Rugby finals (Congrats to the Kiwis, the All Blacks scraped through...), and got to bed by 3AM, hence had a bit of a late start into the morning.

The world was still covered in a white blanket west-coast style, a.k.a. fog but by the time I had my cup of tea and was ready for the road the mist was almost gone, and a very welcome face appeared in the sky: Good morning Sunshine, the Earth says hello!

After pondering a bit which bike to take (decisions, decisions...) I thought it was nice to take out Paolo for a change, because as my working horse, he didn't get much sight-seeing lately, and not much fair weather riding either.

It was colder than expected, only 6C (43F) but my Olympia jacket and the Joe Rocket pants did well.

I was on my way to Minnekhada Regional Park to go for a quick walk around in the bogs, when I spotted some splashing in a nearby otherwise unassuming creek. As it also seemed a good photo op I stopped, and watched some of Mother Nature's mysteries happen right in front of me.

The water was boiling with salmon struggling to swim up the shallow waters, thrashing their way upstream to their spawning grounds.

There was a smell of decay in the air from the fish that only made it this far. I wonder how they find their way back. Do they follow a special homing beacon? During their cumbersome journey swimming against the water current, the fish encounter all kind of predators and have to overcome shallow waters, rocks, and waterfalls. They end up at their spawning grounds battered and bruised, only to propagate and die. And all this on an empty stomach. Where is the fun in that?

Moving on to Minnekhada the road narrows to a single lane. It is always fun to watch two oncoming cagers struggling to pass each other. Two motorcycles wouldn't even have to slow down for this ;-)
The word Minnekhada derives from the Sioux word for 'rattling waters', a purling and babbling noise present in the area from nearby creeks, rivers and streams.

 View from my cockpit.

Paolo seemed to enjoy the outing as much as I did, and the Vespa chugged along effortlessly. Temperatures became more bearable now as the thermometer hit the low teens (>51F).

I left the bike (can you spot it in the picture below?) behind, and hiked a few hundred meters into the park. There were bear warning signs around (with all the salmon at paw's reach, who's to blame them).

The view opened up to overlooking the marshlands. It was perfectly calm and I could listen to the rustling sound of the wind in the tree tops. What a great morning.