Elkhorn

*Elkhorn Slough* (Click on any image to see an enlarged view.)
	Our fleet sets out from the launch site.
	The smoke stacks of the power plant at Moss Landing created an interesting backdrop for the day's activities.
	Naturalist Greg Myer is telling us, "Okay, people, keep alert for sea otters. There should be some around here closeby." Raphael scans the horizon for telltale signs of the furry creatures. Sharp eyes can find them floating on their backs with only their heads and feet sticking out of the water.
	Hey, over here! I'm over here! Hey, will you look over here? Hey!! Where are you going? Over here! HEY!!!
	Greg identifies some of the migratory birds wading in the shallows foraging for food.
	A group of harbor seals sleeps the day away along the shore of the Slough.
	A Harbor Seal gets curious and comes close.
	Small town, nothing to do but hang out at the pier.
	Sure, Shannon would rather be working on her thesis, but sometimes you just gotta go with the flow.
	Be sure to enlarge this to see the raft of otters that has Shannon's attention.
	This was Michael's first outing at Elkhorn Slough. He claimed that all previous attempts had been thwarted by one form of natural disaster or another. Except while taking this photo, the rest of us kept our distance from him all day.
	Here I am, with strawberry fields behind me on the slopes along the shore.
	Sally walks gingerly across the green slime on the shore where we had lunch.
	A little well-deserved R & R.
	El Rafa's Raft: Shannon, Sally, Raphael, Ed, Gunther, Ron, and Michael.
	We paddled single file in the narrow channel through the pickle grass marsh.
	The channel widened to allow two-abreast paddling as we head back at the end of the day.