Tuesday, June 21, 2016 Exploring Tuscarora On our last full day of this journey, we were determined to explore as much as Tuscarora Lake as we could. After a lazy morning at camp, we drifted out on day trip around the lake. We encountered a very angry beaver in a back bay on the southern part of the lake. Later in the day, we encountered a once in a lifetime show! On a rock island, there lived a Tern family. That family had a wee baby Tern wading around their rocky home. We heard a kerfuffle above us and breathlessly watched as a tern and an eagle battled above rock island. Mama tern was not pleased with the prospect of losing her teeny fella. The wee baby tern ducked low in the water, hiding from the eagle until it got closer to its home on Rock Island where it quickly hid on his home with absolutely no hiding spots! The eagle finally flew off after a good battle with mom, and the ending was happy for at least one party in the Sky Battle of Tuscarora!
We dipped our paddles back in the inky waters and propelled ourselves back toward our campsite. A loon became a willing guide, at least for part of the trip back to camp. The evening the lake was a glassy reflection on which we reminisced a lot about the last couple of days, laughing at ourselves and our choices as we made our way to this moment in time.