tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69942252024-03-07T10:11:14.007-08:00What if you waited until you were 64 to try kayaking and then found out you liked it? I go as often as I can and between trips I talk about it here...Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1124683996064013262005-08-21T21:11:00.000-07:002005-08-21T22:05:12.163-07:00

A Great Blue Heron flaps and powers itself above the trees. A Kingfisher makes a splash and flies away with a Raccoon Creek morsel. Sometimes the kingfishers are silent and sometimes they warn like a bad school yard whistle. We are just passing through on our super linear polyethylene personal watercraft taking only pictures and leaving not even footprints. The water sparkles when it is runs fast

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1122923603027045162005-08-01T12:11:00.000-07:002005-08-01T19:03:59.590-07:00

Driving north on Parke County 600 at a point where the drainage ditch is several feet below the road, a bird appeared at my right as if to merge but splayed out his wings and red tail feathers to drop upon some unlucky prey. I had not seen a red-tailed hawk from this perspective before.I passed him as he settled into the ditch and that's how I got such a good look at him. A few miles north, I

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1121006711989264432005-07-10T07:44:00.000-07:002005-07-10T08:34:13.046-07:00

I went out to the garage to get my cell phone and camera this morning. Yesterday Dean and I and one of his friends from work, Kendall, kayaked on one of the few streams with enough water, middle Eel River, and I left everything in the El Camino when I got home: muddy kayak and river boots, wet tee shirt and sweaty straw hat, kayak seat and life vest, cell phone and my camera in its waterproof

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1120495993259656662005-07-04T09:52:00.000-07:002005-07-04T09:53:13.266-07:00

I went with Dean on a kayaking trip Saturday. We put in on Big Walnut at the Dick Huffman Bridge (Dean likes to call it the Pinkney Street Bridge because, I think, of old disputes with a Huffman descendant over recreational access to the river). We took out at the bridge where IN 42 crosses the Eel River.It's a trip I've made before but nothing changes more, trip to trip, than a moving stream.

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1116771312274955892005-05-22T07:14:00.000-07:002005-05-24T11:19:17.090-07:00

I was the last one on the water when I waded in at the end of the sandbar and let the strong Big Walnut Creek current push the kayak between my legs until the seatback bumped me and I lifted my feet and began to paddle along with Nancy, Dean and Bryce. The upper Big Walnut Creek in Hendricks County must be run before the end of June because the water is too low most of the summer. It had been

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1115698867522686312005-05-09T21:05:00.000-07:002005-05-09T21:21:07.536-07:00

I want to use my 85 El Camino to haul my kayak this summer and leave the Pontiac at home for Judy. The bed is 4 feet 6 inches shorter than my cobra Explorer so I looked around on the internet and found a company with a product that could help.All should be delivered in time for me to check stuff out this weekend. We should be paddling soon.

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1101576113594762892004-11-27T09:21:00.000-08:002004-11-27T09:21:53.593-08:00

Read this string of messages from the bottom up to see an example of the kind of service you might expect from the Cobra Kayak company. It's too cold in Indiana for kayaking now so I have time to express my thanks. My first message to Wes at customer service at Cobra was dated 9/19/2004. After a few e-mails, and at no cost to me... well just read the exchange. (I've removed the exact addresses)

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1095432200633215482004-09-17T07:41:00.000-07:002004-09-17T07:43:20.633-07:00

Like boys who can't avoid splashing in a mud puddle, my young friends cannot resist navigating between the hazzards of Chinook. Bryce and Rob (blue and red) make the best of bad weather on September 16, 2004. It is Rob's first float after a long illness. 

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1093755405463185512004-08-28T21:56:00.000-07:002004-08-28T21:56:45.463-07:00

More on Big Raccoon Creek Trip... this is Conley's Ford Bridge. It is one of the few Parke County covered bridges still in use. Because there was a field of mud between parking and the island under the bridge where we landed, it was necessary to use ropes to bring the kayaks to the truck. There was a rush to get my kayak in so that I could wait for the automobile round-trip Bridgeton to Mansfield

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1093755024306663452004-08-28T21:49:00.000-07:002004-08-28T22:06:15.310-07:00

This is where our kayak trip started on the last Friday in August, 2004. Well... this is my first picture on the water but a kayaking adventure begins with planning. Dean will consult with the weather service and check the online stream gauges and Bryce will do the same thing and compare the levels against records of his own experiences on Indiana Streams over the past 30 or 40 years. They decide

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1093237131140875132004-08-22T21:57:00.000-07:002004-08-22T21:58:51.140-07:00

The sight of the last bridge and it's promise of the coming take-out, the end of a tiring kayak trip, has a beauty no matter what it looks like but on this August 15th, the Wabash melts into the sky and the US 36 Bridge resembles a tunnel back to the real world. I lag behind the Bransons wanting to rest but not wanting the voyage to end.  

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1091943035304824062004-08-07T22:29:00.000-07:002004-08-07T22:30:35.303-07:00

The Friday run ended under this bridge where IN 46 crosses the Eel. When you go from Terre Haute to Bloomington, you'll cross this bridge after you pass Dietz Lake and before you get to Bowling Green. I have driven that road countless times but seldom slowed to look down at the creek. Our take-out was a muddy bank directly beneath the bridge. Maybe we could have done it without the ropes and

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1091941835465511332004-08-07T22:09:00.000-07:002004-08-07T22:10:35.466-07:00

Blue and white sky reflect on the center of a wide stretch of the Eel River upstream of Indiana 46.  

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1091941205876389132004-08-07T21:57:00.000-07:002004-08-08T15:45:57.526-07:00

Bryce tries out Dean's new kayak and looks good in it on the Eel River Augus 6, 2004. Bryce reports on the trip: It was a beautiful day for the boys of summer, but it was hard not to notice that the crisp, clear air seem to have a touch of fall in it. On Friday we ran from SR 42, near Poland, to Bowling Green on the Eel River. I almost cancelled out of this trip. I had a tough day at work on

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1091940463810829922004-08-07T21:46:00.000-07:002004-08-07T21:47:43.810-07:00

Sometimes landowners try to keep the creeks and rivers back by depositing scrap cars. I don't know if this works for them or not. It is not a pretty sight. 

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1091940241906676462004-08-07T21:43:00.000-07:002004-08-07T22:06:32.506-07:00

It was the 6th of August on the Eel River between Indiana highways 42 and 46, my first day using the marine pack for my Sony T-1 digital camera. I didn't have to worry about splashing water on my camera or upsetting the kayak and ruining the camera. The camera and the protective case fit neatly in my life jacket vest. After a few minutes on the creek, I paused in an eddy and asked Dean to

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1090854363011236672004-07-26T09:56:00.000-07:002004-07-26T08:06:03.013-07:00

A couple of Fridays ago, Dean and I ran the Wabash River from Techumseh, IN to Terre Haute. Upstream from the power plant, I saw what I would have guessed to be gator if I had been in Florida instead of Indiana. It looked like the picture in DNR pocket guide (I'm only showing the part I saw come out of the water) of an Alligator Gar (Lipisosteus spatula). Description: Greenish brown on back,

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1089480054259403882004-07-10T10:19:00.000-07:002004-07-12T07:20:47.476-07:00

Part 3 (wherein I finish this story) When we put in at Tecumseh, a fisherman warned us of tough currents on the west side of the railroad bridge. Take the long way around, he said. I call the railroad bridge Allison-Rudell because over the years the name of the railroad corporations that use it change from time to time but the two men who were killed in separate accidents on it are still dead

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1089469085697345372004-07-10T07:17:00.000-07:002004-07-10T07:18:05.696-07:00

Part two (even if I never write the rest of it) The stream of scum seems to end at Fort Harrison. Let me guess that the water temperature normalizes and whatever it was that looked like the beginning of Meerschaum remained collected on the east bank upstream. It can't stay there. I guess it mixes in and becomes less noticeable. There are few places to take a break and stretch your muscles on

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1089465714810494532004-07-10T06:15:00.000-07:002004-07-10T06:27:27.123-07:00

Part One (even if I never get around to writing part two) From the Mike Kearns put in at Tecumseh to the Ralph Tucker take out at Fairbanks Park, that was the kayaking adventure for John and Dean, aging kayakers July 9. I know that the late Mayor Tucker would have smiled to see us do it and I suspect my old friend Judge Mike Kearns (now deceased) would have given us his ultimate expression of

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1088960911202940042004-07-04T10:07:00.000-07:002004-07-04T10:08:31.203-07:00

I can count on Dean to have a camera at the ready. Here he watches Bryce watch me watch a young kayaker go through the hazzard that got me wet near the end of our trip through Turkey Run State Park on Sugar Creek on the first day of July. 2004 

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1088960418432428052004-07-04T08:10:00.000-07:002004-07-04T10:00:18.433-07:00

I'm not taking my new camera on the water until I get the waterproof case so these pictures are after we took the kayaks out of Sugar Creek at the Jackson Bridge. If there is a prettier creek to run than Sugar Creek through Turkey Run State Park, I don't know of it. (Dean and Bryce pose with me at the end of 8 miles on the creek.) The put-in was at a sandy beach, the same one used by the

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1088953649592808952004-07-04T08:05:00.000-07:002004-07-04T08:07:29.593-07:00

Being retired is not like not being busy. In early retirement, there is a sense of urgency to do fun things while a) you still can and b) now that there is no bull shit job to keep you thinking you’re too busy to have fun. What WAS I thinking to have worked so long? I should have been kayaking at 24 or 34 or at least 54. Waiting until age 64 is merely better than never. There were pressing

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1087063952520611422004-06-12T11:11:00.000-07:002004-06-12T11:12:32.520-07:00

When his wife told him goodbye and to be careful and not do anything stupid, he stopped and looked her in the face. "Jeanette", he said "I'm going kayaking on a stream with two other 60-year-old men." And that was before we saw the water and the threatening clouds. Well, maybe it is stupid. I had second thoughts when I looked at the put-in site. The water was an angry brown color. It was that

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994225.post-1086024821323218422004-05-31T10:28:00.000-07:002004-05-31T12:39:32.116-07:00

Pre-boomer meets Brood X  Brood X Cicadas provided the background music, instrumental and rhythmic, of the sort that allows your own thoughts but influences them. I had their song in my ears days before as I drove the same roads that lead to Sugar Creek. How can we float between rows of cicada filled trees and not hear the words to their song? The seventeenth time the soil warms to 64

Syc2http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106108328413897875noreply@blogger.com