Kayaking and Watching the Full Moon Rise in Tempe, Arizona
Water sports don’t jump to mind when dreaming up how best to experience a full moon in the Sonoran Desert — but this one should. Gliding along the glassy, cool water of Tempe Town Lake in a kayak creates a soothing contrast to the scorching hot, bustle of more than 4 million people living in the Phoenix metro area. We’re talking surreal and delicious. Jumbo jets thundering overhead and the drone of rush-hour traffic on the nearby freeway can’t even 'ick the wow' of the water’s calm and the large yellow orb rising up over the Superstition Mountains on the eastern horizon.
Beach volleyball, beach soccer, and beach bodies, not typically things that come to mind when describing Tempe, Arizona, but here at Tempe Town Lake, a little magic happened. No longer must you travel to the beaches of Southern California for a competitive beach game. If spectating is more your thing, you can not only watch the action on the sand but you can also take in the aircraft on approach to the airport, boaters on the lake, or even overhear the roar of an exciting Arizona State Football game. Tempe Town Lake is a true grab bag of free fun!
The Endless lake of Tempe Town. With the vantage point of the pedestrian bridge leading to the Tempe Art Center, you can see homes, bridges, buildings, people, art, and a vast body of water we call Tempe Town Lake. It is here on the lake where we can go to ponder, and forget about the stress of today, and think about what is in store for us tomorrow.
If you could take just one photo:
Walk by the lake
The lake smells of water after sitting with it for a few minutes.
A kid likes throwing weeds into the water. Dried Leaves.
Swallows disappear. Their chatter emerges.
Cormorant flies low. Dunks.
Coots beak into the water like chicks. Shriek.
Men bicycle on water. The bank hides their water-bike boat base.
A Gila woodpecker on a stump is larger than when close to the canopy.
The reflection of an upturned end of a feather on the water, along with it makes it look like a dart, an aphid with imaginary feet out for landing.
A bubble floats on water momentarily.
As the water moves
so do the contour lines
Fishing, long a sport romanticized as an escape from work and the city has gone urban. In Tempe the fishing takes place with planes roaring overhead and cars whizzing by. Here anyone, regardless of skill, can have a whole day of recreation practically free. The fishing is easy along miles of man-made shoreline, exit the freeway, drive up to the shore and drop in a line. No time, no money or no desire to drive hours to the wilderness? You can visit this in-city lake for a fishing fix. The goal is always to catch something (a prize-winning Catfish or the world's ugliest Carp) but it may be just a few rays of sunshine and a couple hours of solitude.
Water sports don’t jump to mind when dreaming up how best to experience a full moon in the Sonoran Desert — but this one should. Gliding along the glassy, cool water of Tempe Town Lake in a kayak creates a soothing contrast to the scorching hot, bustle of more than 4 million people living in the Phoenix metro area. We’re talking surreal and delicious. Jumbo jets thundering overhead and the drone of rush-hour traffic on the nearby freeway can’t even 'ick the wow' of the water’s calm and the large yellow orb rising up over the Superstition Mountains on the eastern horizon.
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