Taking advantage of one of the first really nice days of summer, yesterday I headed west of Portland to paddle for a few hours at Skelton Flowage, the impoundment on the Saco River that was created around 1950 when Skelton Dam was built.

It's really a very attractive small lake. Best hand-carry access is from the town of Buxton's Pleasant Point Park. Skelton Flowage offers some of the most pleasant freshwater paddling within about half an hour of Portland. There are many sinuous arms and coves, plus two nice islands, one quite large and the other quite small.

There are many arms and coves on Skelton Flowage, and exploring them makes for a lazy day of paddling.
ALL PHOTOS SCOTT ANDREWS

There weren't many people out yesterday. A teenage girl was paddling a green Walden, and a middle age lady was doing her summer reading on a Zodiak inflatable she'd anchored in a cove. Plus a few power boats zoomed back and forth.

A lady catches up on her summer reading on an anchored Zodiak inflatable.

A teenager paddles her Walden.

I saw more turtles than people.

This turtle, with a diameter the size of a medium pizza, was sunbathing yesterday on Skelton Flowage.

Most were sunning themselves on logs. But I gently collided with one that was swimming nonchalantly near the surface. That sure shook him up, and he dived for the depths!

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