First Day of Fall - 2023: Exploring The 'Narrows' on Barren River Lake

 Took about a month off to refresh and regroup. Guess I needed the time away as it seems I am always more enthusiastic about sharing some of my outings afterwards.

The weather forecast called for light and variable winds with sunny skies filtered through some high and hazy thin clouds with temperatures peaking out about 80 degrees. It was time to once again load up 'Camper' and head over to Barren River Lake. This time around, my destination was an area known as 'The Narrows'. Located sort of toward the upper end of the lake where a meandering arm of the lake snakes its way through the landscape. Characterized by tall rocky bluffs and tree lines ridges, the location provides some of the most scenic views on the lake. The Narrows is a long peninsula that pinches into a very narrow section with the lake visible on both sides before it widens somewhat before ending in the water. A popular campground and marina are located at the far end.

Not the first time I've been to The Narrows, but the first time to put my canoe in there and explore what it had to offer. Some of the best big sky photographs I've ever taken were captured in this area on the lake. With the early fall season showing signs of color changes in the trees, I anticipated new opportunities would present themselves. My plan; simply paddle and follow the bluffs until after mid-day, then retrace my route back to the put in, and take photographs along the way to document the day hoping that at least one image might be daring enough to define the moment. As it turned out, this is exactly what happened.

I parked in the gravel parking lot adjacent the marina. Required was a short forty yard hike to the water, well multiple hikes, to carry all of my gear down, which took a few extra minutes to complete. Within a few minutes of shoving off I saw the first of several Osprey's sitting atop an old dead tree near the edge of the lake. Seems I always have the wrong lense on my camera. When I need a long reach lense, I'll have a wide angle lense attached. When I need a wide angle lense, I'll have the long reach lense. Such was the case for most of the day as I constantly found myself watching Oprey's sail overhead and by the time I swapped out my lense, they were well out of range. However I did manage to catch a couple of marginal images. Did not matter though for I truly enjoyed watching them fly around and snatch a meal from the water.

The tree lined ridges showed hints of an early fall season. Most of the trees displayed their vibrant summer green, but there were scattered amongst the woodlands and along the edge of the lake the first signs of fall. Reds, yellows, and even a few oranges blended with the prevailing green. Their color contrasting heavily with the background. There are bluffs colored with a shades of gray from black to almost white stretching a good forty feet up from the waters edge. The early signs of fall hovered along their top edges and even grew out of the rocks. 

The lake being quite calm early on allowed wonderful reflections across its surface with the bluffs and ridges forming ghostly mirror like images of themselves. I love photographing such scenes. I found myself marveling at the sights and making myself a promise to return in a few weeks when the fall colors would be more developed. I visualized potentially an amazing scene with morning fog drifting near the bluffs and the ridges accented with brilliant fall colors all reflected on the calm surface of the lake.

The day progressed as planned mostly uneventful and I took several rest stops and checked out several potential camping locations. The hazy skies began to burn off by early afternoon and as I made my way back I did manage to capture a few big sky images. 

Oddly enough I collected a couple of stowaways inside my canoe. One was some kind of butterfly, black and blue with white spots along the outer edge of his wings. He was struggling on the water, so I plucked him from his watery tomb and placed him on top of my lunch box to dry out...and yes he did eventually fly away. Later on as I was unloading my gear I found what looked like a gecko inside my canoe. He was about four inches long, sort of gray in color with splayed out fingers and large head. Turned out to be what is called a Tropical House Gecko...a non-native species to Kentucky.

I ended up paddling right at 10 miles, a good day on the water. I will return in a few weeks as the fall colors progress, but this day turned out to be a delightful day afield. Come join me...I do believe you will enjoy the moment.