Friday night we took a nighttime canoe ride with our friends Cathy and Rob.  We were part of a larger group sponsored by Frog Hollow Outdoors, who provided the boats and led us on the tour.

We canoed in the Three Rivers area of Durham, which is where  three rivers—the Eno, Flat and Neuse—converge and empty into Falls Lake.   Putting  in at the Eno River boat ramp off of Red Mill Road, our flotilla  headed east, to the end of the Eno River.

Our guides asked us to turn off our lights so that we could utilize our nighttime vision.  The full moon provided enough light for our paddle, and the weather was perfect. Occasionally a heron would fly overhead, and the owls definitely made their presence known.

Soon we reached the end of the Eno and came to the headwaters of the Neuse. The Flat river stretched out to the north of us.

We sat there and listened to the unusual sounds of the cricket frogs.  They made a surreal static popping noise, almost like a Geiger counter.  One of our companions was startled by the slapping of a beaver tail.

Although we had a blissful paddle through the moonlight, we were glad when we got back to the boat ramp.  That night we slept well, dreaming of herons and cricket frogs.