The Mystery Red Kayak remained where I left it. I returned to Rock Hall, Maryland. Late that afternoon, I drove back to Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, to see what butterflies were about. While I worked the trails, I saw a lone kayak approaching the shore. The man in the kayak headed straight to the Mystery Red one. I was not finding much butterfly presence, and returned my attention to the drama of the Red Kayak.

The man down there called up to me, asking if I knew anything of Red Kayak. I told him what I knew, that it had been there all day. He said that he occasionally finds kayaks, and returns them to their owners. Living 43 years on Chesapeake Bay, he’d seen lots of mysteries about.

This was a new world for me. Folks whose lives heavily involve the Bay, who go out to patrol, so to speak, the Bay, to monitor that all’s as it should be. Out there with the osprey, bald eagles, turkey vultures, egrets . . . What a life.

Next post will feature the last photo of the rescue of the Mystery Red Kayak.

Jeff