Helicopters buzz the Salt River

Date: August 18, 2007
Location: Salt River, near Blue Point
Time and temperature: Start - 1725, 109
End - 1905, 104
Distance hiked About 2 miles
The numbers:
57 Pictures taken
3 Helicopters seen
2 Kayaks seen
1 set of miniblinds seen

Ramblings: It was a little dryer today. It didn't feel too hot until I got close to the river. That's where the mosquitoes were hanging out, too. The river seems to have changed since the picture on Google Earth was taken. It has a small side-stream that breaks off from the main river for a couple of hundred yards or so. At first I thought the side stream was the river and I was wondering how people could stand to go through such slow moving water (with green gunk on top) that had tree branches dangling in the water all the way across. Then I found the real river. I was surprised at how much water was flowing through it.

You can tell that a lot of people visit the river along here. There's a lot of strange stuff laying on the ground, and large areas where plants have been wiped out.

When I started the hike, a sheriff's SUV went by in Bush Highway with lights and siren going. A couple of minutes later a helicopter came the other direction and went right over me. At first I thought it might be rushing somebody to the hospital, but it turns out it was a sheriff's helicopter. It flew back and forth several times and would sometimes fly slowly over some areas. It was mostly following the river. I wonder if they saw me snapping pictures each time they went by. A couple of other helicopters flew along the river, too. I also heard a couple of airboats on the river. I wasn't close enough to the river at the time to see them or get a picture, though. It might have been useful to have had my scanner with me, but there's a limit to how much stuff I can carry around in that heat.

Speaking of the heat, I wonder if I might have gotten a little too warm. I started feeling woozy just before I got back to the truck and felt that way until after I got home and ate. Maybe I was just hungry. I felt fine, except for my feet. I forgot to take my Celebrex this morning and my feet were killing me after an hour and a half of walking on river rocks and loose sand. They're much better now, though.

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