Sunday morning broke cool and calm – definitely a whiff of autumn in the air after a chilly night. The sun lazily slept-in behind a smoke filled sky. I opted for a day away from the studio to catch up on chores at the cabin with plans to play in the afternoon. Leslie called on her way up from Jackson to firm up our plans to paddleboard on the Yellowstone. I was still wearing flannel - tempted by thoughts of a much-needed nap and wondering about the cool temps. BUT – the urge to play before Momma Nature officially put summer in the closet got me motivated. Besides, the weather app on my cell phone stated “0% chance of rain and highs in the mid-80’s.”
We optimistically smeared on sunscreen, pulled on long-sleeve shirts and launched. The first raindrops landed within ten minutes of paddling…and paddling is something we never stopped doing since the wind kept trying to blow us right back upriver. After drizzling on us a few times during the 1sthour of paddling, Momma Nature unleashed an impressive storm complete with thunder and lightning. Teaspoon-size drops of rain pelted us. I laughed out loud as we paddled to an island to take shelter beneath a batch of trees under the watchful eye of a BIG beautiful owl. We continued to paddle (paddle and paddle) down river once the storm blew over. The sun broke out beaming just as we loaded our boards in the truck at the take-out – Momma Nature grinned mischievously. The joke was on us; our little 2.5-hour adventure happened during the only 2 hours of adverse weather during the last few weeks.