A Short Day on Nolin Lake + Another Hilarious Zippo Lighter Moment

 Spent a few hours up on Kentucky's Nolin Lake exploring the Dog Creek Recreation Area and canoeing the Dog Creek arm of the lake. With temperatures only reaching up to 78 for the day, light breezes, and blue skies it was an almost perfect day to be out on the lake. Managed to see two Bald Eagles and other wildlife. Being a short day I only covered about 6 miles, but it was an enjoyable first day canoeing on Nolin Lake.

As part of this feature, another Zippo Lighter moment is included. It is by far the most hilarious misadventure moment within the annals of all the Zippo Lighter Moments that occured way back around 1989 or 1990 on a backpacking trip into the Ponca Wilderness Area inside Arkansas' Buffalo National River area.

Please join me on another summertime canoe outing and the telling of a classic Zippo Lighter Moment.

A Zippo Lighter Moment - When Nature Wins

 It is fascinating to me how an aroma.or a simple sound can trigger nostalgic memories from years ago. There is one sound that has over the years become an iconic trigger of memories for me...the clink and zip of a Zippo Lighter. 

Whenever I hear those two combinations I am taken back into a world from my past when my old friend Ralph became not just a friend, nor a mentor, but a creator of memories. He used his old Zippo Lighter to fire off his classic pipe that was always with him on every outdoor adventure we shared. The sound of him flipping it open...clink...then spinning the spark ignitor...zip...and the sweet aroma from the smoke drifting from his pipe...well, at the time I did not realize it, but those moments became ingrained as anchors to cherished memories from those days afield.

Zippo Light Moments will be a series of short videos where I remember back to those early days afield with my good friends Ralph, Rocky, Curtis and my brother Ken as we explored the adventures of the outdoors...and how Ralph's old Zippo Lighter and pipe became the point of reference for all of those memories.

So join me as we take a look back. First up is a classic moment I call 'When Nature Wins'. 

(https://beyondthecampfirebykeith.blogspot.com/2010/12/when-nature-wins.html)

Another Ansel Adams Kind of Day on Barren River Lake

 Exploring nature from a canoe offers an almost endless volume of opportunities. Even familiar locations can provide new levels of insight and photographic moments with every visit and every entry into your canoeing log, higher levels of insight and revelations from the natural world provide the words and storylines. It is no secret I love black and white photography and Ansel Adams is my best inspiration with each framing of scenic value I make. Thursday May 16th became another Ansel Adams kind of day as I once again loaded my canoe and worked my way along the tall bluffs that stretched toward the blue skies and soft rounded clouds. 

Wind has always been my worst enemy when it comes to canoeing. So, when a day presents itself with light and variable breezes, clearing blue skies stretched with formations of summer clouds, and a desire to et out, well, it's just almost inevitable I'll find a way to spend the day with paddle in hand and my venerable Old Town canoe gliding across the calm waters.

The day started out rather overcast but the forecast indicated partly cloudy skies by mid-day and through the afternoon. Air temperatures hovered in the upper 60's when I shoved off with indications the temps would rise into the low 80's by early afternoon. The partly cloudy skies was what intrigued me as they will often provide wonderful Ansel Adams style photo opportunities.

I also took advantage of the moment to introduce my first official "Zippo Lighter Moment" with a video clip I captured as I glided along. Zippo Lighter Moments are personal outdoor adventure memories from my past and are intended to secure the memory of my good friend Ralph who is the inspiration for these stories. He and his old pipe and Zippo lighter became iconic anchors tied to many stories and served to place emphasis on each one. The stories are so connected to his old Zippo Lighter and Pipe combination that every time I hear the 'clink...zip...' of a zippo lighter being fired off, well...the memories of all those countless moments flood back to life. (Working on a short Zippo Lighter Moment video...so stay tuned.)

Ralph fishing Honobia Creek

Across the day I ran into and talked with several Old-Timer personalities briefly sharing a few moments of insight as part of the beautiful day.  Three guys were fishing from the bank where I put in and about five miles later where I turned around I ran into three other old-timers fishing from a private boat dock. Moments such as those offer special anchor points for any given trip by providing a unique moment in time that can be attached to the day. 

As the day progressed the Ansel Adams opportunities became more alive and I found myself catching glimpses and angles and landscapes that clearly spoke to me saying.."take this one...". 

Through the day I ran across several wildlife moments. I spotted an immature bald eagle soar overhead and dive into the water to grab a fish and then a few moments later I spotted him sitting on a bare branch not 25 yards from me, but as is so often the case, I had the wrong lens attached to my camera and by the time I swapped it out, well...off he flew. But just seeing him so close was reward enough.

Later on I drifted toward a small waterfall and near its base an otter climbed out of the water and scurried up the incline. Countless herons protested my presence, and a couple of Osprey's provided a distant accent to the wildlife moments. Never got a single photo of any of them. But, that is just fine as I have the memory of greeting them on this day.

Turned out to be very good day on the water as I paddled almost exactly 10 miles...it felt like a lot more for some reason. Needless to say, I'll be doing this again soon and hopefully if I can secure three good days of weather and wind in a row, I will be making an end to end canoe trip on the lake, a distance of about 40 miles with day two covering almost 20 of them.

Yeah, it was another Ansel Adams kind of day on the lake and yeah...I do love taking black and white photographs. thanx for the inspiration Ansel.