It has been long overdue and today it turned into reality: we finally went on a boat tour on Canyon Lake with our friend Robert.

Diane and Alan were at our house at 3am and just before 4am we pulled in to the parking lot of the Canyon Lake Marina where Robert was already waiting for us – he does not only have kayaks but also a pontoon boat on which he has been taking people out on the lake for a few years now. Marco has referred many fellow photographers to him and all of them came back very happy.

There have been hardly any trips where they did not see any wildlife. The more lucky photographers saw bighorn sheep, ringtail cats, coatimundi, raccoons, golden eagles, bald eagles, bobcats or even elusive mountain lions. Therefore, our expecations were high – as was the pressure on Robert.

Today it has been our turn: We were on the lake before the sun came up and scanned the shores and slopes along the lake with flashlights for glowing eyes in the dark to see if and where animals were hanging out. Once the sun was up we were able to revisit the spots we spotted some animals earlier.

The scenery and the lake with hardly any boats were breathtaking – a very peaceful and relaxing morning.

It was a great experience even without seeing too many different animals and most importantly: no mountain lion.

Thank you Robert – We will be back!