Fourth on the River

Fourth on the River
We took the paddlewheel boat downriver to Leo-Cedarville to watch their fireworks last night. There was a thunderstorm watch and the sky looked ominous as we launched with drinks, snacks and raingear. As we plopped downstream (plop goes the paddles), other boats joined us, including two Amish boys on a jet ski (!) and an overloaded pontoon of Amish. It never did rain, but the front brought in welcome cooler temperatures. We anchored at the edge of a river bend with a direct view of the fireworks launch and waited two hours for the fireworks to start. There were wild pink roses blooming on the shore, frogs croaking and herons flying overhead. To pass the time, we played Independence Day 20 questions. Since there was a theme, it started out pretty easy, but dh Steve stumped us with aluminum dust which is used in fireworks. I then stumped them with "Red, White and Blue" because they did not expect colors.

I wasn't too successful with my digital camera, but a few interesting shots are posted below. The reflection of the fireworks in the water was a double treat, but I couldn't capture it too well with the camera. The other cool thing about watching fireworks in the river is the sound of the booms traveling up the river valley. It sounded like jet fighters as the sound traveled in the distance.

After the smoke from the grand finale dissipated, we let the other boats leave and then slowly paddled upstream, with all hands looking for logs -- floaters, deadheads. Several boats had powerful spotlights for this purpose, but we have better luck getting our night vision and doing it with only the dim light of the night.