Three kayak groups in two days
Family gathering for the Fourth-of-July weekend. Molly and Nate traveled to the property on Friday night and camped out.
I left early on Saturday morning hauling the pop-up camper. Got to the property around 9:00 AM. Proceeded to do some weed-wacking around the edges of the camp site. Had to drop and cut up a dead tree near the clearing.
Hauled kayaks down to the water so Molly and Nate could take the trip down to the canoe landing. Hauling kayaks down the walk-to-the-water just reinforced that we have to put in stairs, as much as I have tried to avoid it.
Lorraine and Jack arrived shortly after lunch. I had a scheduled meeting with a stair guy, Nevin. After he surveyed the bluff..... well, at least he didn't run away, and in fact stated he would do the job. I now need to get with the zoning department for Jackson County to discuss what I can do and how I can do it.
John, Leann, Allie and Megan rolled in around suppertime. Had a nice dinner and time with family around the campfire. Nick, Tiffany and Maddax stopped over for a bit. Nick has really set himself up a nice place over there, and they are really nice people.
Audra and Ryan were coming in the next day (Sunday).
Woke up Sunday morning and made breakfast. Once we cleaned up, it was time to get a kayak trip going. So, John and I hauled three kayaks (John had brought two kayaks up in addition to the two I had) along with Molly, Nate and Allie to the Garage Road put-in. John gave them GoPro Cubes to record the trip, as I am always able to utilize these for the website and other marketing materials.
While they were on their trip, John, Megan and I went down to the water and built some stairs between two of the boulders where stepping is somewhat precarious, and then a small stairway down to the "beach" area; the natural area into and out of the water.
The kayak group went to the County Road E bridge, where we had to fight some weeds (including poison ivy) and a rough hike up to the road... but still better than getting kayaks up the existing Clearwater Dells path from the water.
We took off immediately for the second trip; this time, Lorraine, John and I took off from Garage Road. This was my first trip on this section of water, and it was truly mesmerizing; you actually lost all sense of time as you were constantly encountering something new and different to look at around each bend in the creek. I shot pictures with my GoPro along the way that I will post.
This time, we used Nick's property to take-out. While this was certainly easier that the County Road E bridge take-out, Nick still has a pretty good hill to haul kayaks up. Without a doubt, the takeout at the canoe landing at the Black River is the best place to take out..... that is, until I solve that problem at Clearwater Dells. I have an idea.......
In any case, thanks, Nick, for letting us try this out.
So, again good supper and hangin' with family on Sunday night.
Up the next morning (Monday), and got some breakfast cooked up, and then started the whole clean-up/pack-up process. We took Leann, Audra, Ryan and Allie up the the Garage Road put-in for the final kayak trip of the weekend. Met a new property owner next to Garage Road and we talked kayaking as she was interested in the best places to go for beginners. I recommended the run from County Road E bridge to Hall's Creek Landing at the Black River. I nice, gentle half-hour float that is excellent for beginners, and you are treated to a nice waterfall halfway down.
I was able to get most everything staged and ready to load up while they were out on their trip. Once they returned, we did our final loading and then took off for home.
A great trip with some great memories. That's what it's all about, right?
