Moonlight Paddles on Menokin Bay

by Alice French, Director of Education   

It’s August and I can think of no better way to spend the final days of summer than paddling along the creeks and rivers of the Northern Neck.

Menokin has returned with the ever-famous full moon paddles this month on August 20th. Sign up  for a special adult tour and watch the moon rise over Cat Point Creek. Join us afterwards for a themed cocktail, (alcohol optional) and toast the Sturgeon Moon!      

Cat Point Creek at sunset. Photo by Clarice Barker.

The prehistoric-looking sturgeon has been sighted in the past popping out of the water to surprise a group of students along the shore of Cat Point Creek, perhaps upstream to spawn. Wikipedia says, “The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous, and are descended from other, earlier acipenseriform fish who date back to the Triassic period some 245 to 208 million years ago… Most sturgeons are anadromous bottom-feeders, which migrate upstream to spawn, but spend most of their lives feeding in river deltas and estuaries. Some species inhabit freshwater environments exclusively, while others primarily inhabit marine environments near coastal areas, and are known to venture into open ocean.” Some species can grow 7-12 feet long!

Traditionally, each full Moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred, not solely to the full Moon. August's full Moon was traditionally called the Sturgeon Moon because the giant sturgeon were most readily caught during this part of summer. The most well known full moon names come from the Algonquin tribes who lived in northeastern America and westward to the Great Lakes.

According to astrologer Lisa Stardust, August's Full Sturgeon Moon is also here to help us embrace change and seek justice: “…Aquarius is the humanitarian sign of the zodiac and when it's fully lit up by the glow of the Moon, we will all seek ventures that call for us to be more in sync with the modern rhythms of society and to revel from the past and conservative beliefs…Open yourself to learning new things and new causes to believe in—now's the time to fully commit, and get out and protest for what you believe in.

I love the idea of a moon representing change and justice!

To reserve your spot on our next Moonlight Paddle on August 20, visit our program calendar. The cost is $40 per person and includes all equipment.