From Tranquille Bay or Cooney Bay, paddlers can follow the shoreline to Battle Bluff, which is a sheer face rising 1150 feet in elevation from the lake.   The shoreline to the east is often protected from the wind, but there is usually more wind around the point.   When there is no wind, the walls of the bluffs may be reflected in the lake.

Paddling close to the rock, the reflection creates a strong optical illusion.

Sometimes it is hard for our eyes and our brains to make sense of the scene.   How many logs?

The paddle around Cooney Bay and beyond to the end of Battle Bluff and back is an 8 km journey.   On this last trip, bighorn sheep were grazing on the shoreline, ospreys were scouting for fish, mergansers perched on logs, poison ivy was spotted on the shoreline, Tranquille Creek was surging out into the bay, and eagles cirlced overhead.  The lake can be very peaceful, but strong winds are always a possibility.   Will the new marina at Tobiano bring more power boats into the lake?