Backyard Adventure
Published September 19, 2011 | 
What amounts to a dream anymore?
A crude device; A veil on our eyes
A simple plan we’d be different from the rest
And never resign to a typical life – broken bells
It’s raining this morning and not quite 60 f. The weather seers say that the day will turn warm and sunny… eventually. Oh well, if I’m going to get my paddle time in today, I need to do it right away this morning. This will count as day two of my “100 miles to winter” paddle to celebrate the 100th anniversary of my local state park. I think it’s cool that in a month of days I’ll be able to see the world pass from the greens of summer, through the jubilant colors of fall and then in the end, to the charcoal sketched environment of late fall, all from the seat of my kayak. It should be a fun little backyard adventure, only requiring an hours paddle time over about 35 days. For the most part I’ll be posting the log over at devilslakewisconsin.com. I fear many über kayakers will find it a bit silly, a bit “quixotic” if you will, but I look forward to having an opportunity to spend the next month talking about paddling and our amazing state park with folks may not yet suffer the addictions. 
OK, time to head out for day 2.
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Posted in Enviroment, My Paddling, My Weird Life, Outdoor Recreation, Paddling, Quixotica | 
devils lake, wisconsin | 
1 CommentThe Devil’s Work
Published September 15, 2011 | 
This Sunday locally we host the annual Devil’s Challenge Triathlon at Devil’s Lake State Park. I’m a bystander. The 5k run and the 15 mile bike ride would be fine.. the quarter-mile swim on the other hand, would not. I actually didn’t learn to swim realistically until well after I learned to kayak. In fact, one of the reasons I started kayaking was that it allowed me to indulge my love of water WITHOUT needing to swim. In fact, learning to roll is pretty good simulation of snorkeling. You simply put on the dive mask, roll, see the world, then roll back up. Over the last couple of years I’ve started to swim laps at the pool. Who knows, maybe we’ll do that triathlon next year.. OR we could just tell them to dump the swimming and replace it with a kayaking section… I mean let’s face it swimming in a cold lake in September is the devil’s work!!
Torrent
Published August 13, 2011 | 
As I said recently, I love the rain. Yesterday, I certainly didn’t expect the crazy downpour that caught me out on my local lake, but it was certainly a nice surprise. The trick at Devil’s Lake is that you simply can’t see very far into the horizon in any direction, so you’re never sure what’s on the other side of the hills. While I knew there was a chance for rain, I didn’t check the radar… Boom! Of course I wouldn’t have missed it for the world anyway. 10 minutes into my paddle the sky quickly turned dark and the torrents began. A fog quickly built up over the lake, and a sudden wind turned the water choppy as well. It was a fantastic experience.. Of course, then the lightning came! Continue reading
Today
Published August 10, 2011 | 
Today is Wednesday, August 10th, 2011. The heat wave that has gripped my little part of the world has broken. Well, It’s changed anyway. The Costa Rican humidity has passed and average high temperatures is back around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Today I’m meeting a new rolling student who’s driving down from LaCrosse for a bit of coaching. I love private classes.. I also feel a bit humbled by the fact that someone would drive so far to hang out with me for a couple of hours. I’ll tell you one thing, I want to see her rolling before the days out. Now here’s a few more thoughts that popped into my crazy head this morning… Continue reading
The Rain King
Published August 1, 2011 | 
I love the rain, any foul weather in fact. Sure, you get wet. Sometimes you get cold. Sometimes you can hardly hold your eyes open. Still, that’s the price of often dream-like landscapes and what can be a very sensual connection to our planet. Rain, wind, and even snowstorms are often like fire alarms for me to get outside either on the trails or on the water. What truly amazed me recently is when we were experiencing our first real rain after days and days of hot muggy weather and the trails… were empty. Continue reading
Posted in Nature & Wildlife, Outdoor Recreation, Quixotica, Random Thoughts | devils lake, wisconsin | 3 CommentsBoatloads of Discontent
Published June 26, 2011 | 
Wisconsin, like in so many other places around the country and around the world, is facing an abrupt change in how we how we treat others and our environment, all in the name of money as usual. At the moment, those who choose individualism and corporate profit are in charge. The folks interested in a more social view, workers rights, and concern for the environment are finding themselves left adrift and carrying signs.. Things will change. Everything is cyclical. What bothers me personally are the folks who live on the fringe who really have no voice and will simply suffer even more while the rest of us spin in a holding pattern of debate. Yesterday at our local state park, our freshly minted Governor showed up to take part in the 100 year celebration. It was clear pretty quickly that the majority of the people attending the event were not fans, but were there to protest.. Even on the water… Continue reading
100 Years
Published June 25, 2011 | 
Today we celebrate the centennial of Devil’s Lake State Park here in Baraboo, Wisconsin. If you’re not from the central part of the US it’s hard to explain what Devil’s Lake means to folks here in the Mid-West, other than to say that 1.8 million visitors enter the park each year. That means if Devil’s Lake were a National Park, it would (according to Madison.com) rank number 12 between Glacier National Park (2.2 million) in Montana and Joshua Tree National Park (1.4 million). The park is popular among not only weekend beach goers but is also well-known for its many miles of hiking trails, rock climbing opportunities, mountain biking, and of course, paddling. Continue reading
Posted in My Paddling, Nature & Wildlife, Outdoor Recreation, Paddling | devils lake, wisconsin | Leave a comment
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