Saturday Paddlers - South Llano River

The adventurous paddlers ventured a little farther from their usual haunts as the temperature climbed and water levels decreased. Destination: Junction and the South Llano River. The route decided upon was an 11-mile trip from the First Crossing to the State Park. The river was flowing at about 88 cfs, a little higher than the median flow for that date of 75 cfs and the minimum recommended flow of 65 cfs. Although there was a lot of scraping on the rocks, only minimal walking was required.

Note 1: OK, I finally figured it out. To view about forty more photos from this outing, including many nice shots of individual paddlers, go to my Flickr page, and then click on "Slideshow." These additional photos are substantially downsized. Contact me if you want the full-sized version of a particular photograph.

Note 2: Left click on any photo to enlarge to full size.

Twelve of the fourteen paddlers arrived on time for the rendezvous at the scenic Super S parking lot. Munchies were purchased.

Tom slapping himself for riding with Susan.

Bing entertains Joline. Note him favoring his right leg.

Jodie, Susan, Mike and Bing try to ignore Bing's missing right leg.

Tom Cayton at the first rapid.




































Cleo in his easy chair. What me, paddle?























A fisherman in the distance.












Cleo among the boulders.

Clear water and ...
... lofty bluffs.

Henry enjoys the scenery with kayakers in the distance.

Mike, always on the lookout for wildlife, spots a beaver nestled in the roots of a tree.

Spot it?

Nancy moves in for a closer view. Look out for those teeth!

After only a few miles, the paddlers take a break for lunch, perhaps not realizing how far it is to the take-out. The prospect of frozen margaritas may have influenced Joline's decision.

Our lady of the lake.

Tom Locke enjoying the peaceful river.

A body floats by, but the paddlers are too busy eating to notice.

Crowded parking lot at the eatery.

Cleo dodging rocks.

Joline finds something amusing about Mike's navigation. Or are they sharing a private joke about the photographer?

Bing resting.

A river of grass.

Underwater plants, too.

I thought this was a navigable stream!

A short portage around a private road crossing.

Mike battles the current.












Beached kayak and house on ridge.




















Clouds in the river.

















A refreshing break at the junction of the river with a small tributary.























































Tom at the busy State Park crossing. He's quite skillful at catching riderless boats as they pass under the bridge.












As the sun starts to settle a little lower, the last paddler reaches the take-out at the State Park.

After a hard day's work, eleven of the paddlers meet at Junction's La Familia Mexican Restaurant for dinner.

What shall we order? Looks like Mike has already figured that out.

Looks like we didn't really like the food.