Kayaks, Big Canoes, Annual Canoe Race and Making Movies

KAYAK

Tessie – the 14.5 ft. Native Watercraft kayak

A new vessel was added to the Riverway fleet this summer.  A kayak was purchased to give me greater flexibility in paddling both upstream and downstream.  I’m still learning the ropes and high water on the river has precluded any river voyages as of yet.  I have paddled some flat water to get the hang of it and like it.  Check out the photos from Governor Dodge State Park.  Special thanks to Darren Bush and the staff at Rutabaga for assistance and expertise in choosing the model that was right for Riverway Board uses.

BIG CANOES

Ages 5 to 95 participated this year

The LWSRB program of free guided trips on the Riverway utilizing the DNR voyageur replica canoes was a big hit again this year.  Waiting lists accumulated for almost every outing.  While I intended to cut back on the number of trips (last year we did 18 trips in 21 days for the Year of the Riverway), we still ended up doing 12 trips in 15 days with the Muscoda canoe race sandwiched in there as well.  However, high water came to the river in mid-July and sustained record flows have limited river excursions.  I hope that changes soon.  Here is the link to the photo gallery where there are some photos from the voyageur canoe trips – version 2010.

CANOE RACE

A nostalgic day for a dad

The 46^th Annual Wisconsin River Canoe & Kayak Race was held on July 11^th with the finish line at Muscoda.  Races include three lengths:  Spring Green to Muscoda – 21 miles; Lone Rock to Muscoda – 15 miles; and, Gotham to Muscoda – 8 miles.  For many years, I have entered the Gotham to Muscoda race, not as a competitive racer necessarily (although I am competitive), but more so to support the event.  For the past several years, my son, Sam, and I have competed in the youth/adult class and had won four years in a row.  This year, we lost the title and finished second in our last time competing in the youth/adult division because next year he’ll be sixteen and won’t qualify as a “youth” any more.  I remember when he was ten months old and I “baptized” him in the river after the 1995 race.  Soon, he’ll have his driver’s license.  Just as the river flows from day to day, season to season, and year to year, so goes the ebbs and flows and our collective lives.  One day you are dipping your baby’s bare bottom in the river and, in the blink of an eye, he is a strapping young man. 

HOLLYWOOD

Waterwalk – The Movie

In 1996, a father/son duo retraced the voyage of Marquette and Joliet and, as part of the journey, of course, paddled along the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway.  The father eventually wrote a book about the experience entitled, Waterwalk.  The book is now being made into a movie by independent filmmaker.  The crew was in the area this week and I was asked to consult as a river guide and historian.  Timm Zumm, Co-Chair of the Friends of the Lower Wisconsin (FLOW), provided his boat and assisted with filming from the Hwy. 14 bridge to Wisconsin Riverside Resort.  The crew then filmed in Muscoda, Boscobel and Prairie du Chien.  I was asked to be an extra as well and strode by the Muscoda Library on Wisconsin Ave.  We’ll see if the offers pour in from Hollywood once the movie is released.  I don’t think I’ll hold my breath.