Counting Geese
Published December 13, 2011 | 
It’s a good thing that I only have a couple more days left on my 100 mile paddle at Devil’s Lake State Park, the amount of open water on the lake is shrinking each day. For the moment, the massive number of Canada geese hanging out at the park seem happy with the expanding ice. Geese are commonplace around here of course, and it’s not hard to find someone who hates them for the noise they make and the messes they leave behind. Still, to my mind, anytime we can witness such large numbers of animals in the wild is really a gift. We’ve been there before; bison, passenger pigeons, cranes, just to name a few. It’s just too easy to deem animals as pests and let the hunt begin.. Honestly, I could never imagine humans wiping out Canada geese.. I mean… Seriously?? But history tell us that we should never be too sure of ourselves…
27
Published November 29, 2011 | 
Did you know that Canoecopia tickets are already available for 2012? Ticket prices went up for 2012, but if you get on your horse you can save a bit by purchasing yours online right away. I’m assuming you already know that Canoecopia is the countries largest paddle sports expo and is held each year in Madison, Wisconsin. This year’s dates are March 9th – 11th. I’ll see you there.. somewhere…
Meanwhile 45 miles to the north of Madison, I spend my Thanksgiving day paddling around Devil’s Lake… Surprise, Surprise!! That marked day 27 leaving me only 7 days to go to hit my 100 mile goal. Now I’m actually dragging my heels to get my last day in as near to the end of the year as possible. I think it would be sweet to wrap up on New Year’s eve day… It’s all up to old man winter at this point. I posted a small gallery of pics from Thanksgiving day over on Flickr. (Click Here) Nice moody day, Canada Geese, Bald Eagle… great day to be on the water!
Posted in Events & Symposia, My Paddling, Paddling | 
canoecopia, devils lake, wisconsin | 
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Published September 26, 2011 | 
You know what they say about cross-country skiing don’t you? It’s fantastic as long as your dress for it! It’s the same for paddling of course, especially when the floodgates of heaven open up over your head! I’m seriously loving my Kokatat GOR-TEX Anorak. (I’d really be loving my Romany as well, if it weren’t getting about 3 cups of water in the back every time I paddle!!)
Today, by 8am I was again heading out into Devil’s lake to take a few more miles. 82 to go. I got started on this silly quest when the local Friends of Devil’s Lake State Park held a summer long “Hike 100″ event to celebrate the park’s centennial year. Hey, I’m all for anything to get people out and exercising, but how could they leave out paddling?? Grrrrr! Well, Day 6 is in the bag… a wet, drippy bag!
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 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 CommentsComplex Problem Solving
Published July 21, 2011 | 
Yeah we’re playing those mind games together
Projecting our images in space and in time
Yes is the answer and you know that for sure
Yes is surrender you got to let it go
- Lennon
I know many of you expect me to post photos from the various great lakes symposiums each year. Well, I finally have 107 Door County Sea Kayak Symposium pictures ready. This was an interesting symposium season for me personally this year, especially the last two where I actually only did one class with one student. No kidding. At Door I spent the whole of the event doing day trips. Not a bad way to spend your time actually. In the course of three days I paddled each side of the peninsula and the tip from Death’s Door to Washington Island. Suffice to say, out of the 107 pics, very few are from the actual symposium!! Continue reading
Keeping The Faith in Two Rivers
Published July 12, 2011 | 
I had a message on my phone from local Two Rivers paddler & coach John Bodwin, inviting me to join him (And a guy who suspiciously looks like Nigel Dennis) for an evening paddling at the Neshotah beach along the big lake. It had been some time since I’d paddled this section of Lake Michigan and after a hot bike ride on the Mariner trail between Two Rivers and Manitowoc, I was more than ready to get on the water! When I arrived the air temps were still in the mid-80s and the lake was as calm as I’ve seen it since we kicked off this trip. What a great way to end the day! Continue reading
Posted in My Paddling, Paddle Gear, Paddling | kokatat, sea kayaking uk, two rivers, wisconsin | Leave a comment
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