Forty-plus years on this earth... and as of a couple of weeks ago, one of the things in my "never done that" column was "be in a canoe". Been in a raft... been in lots of kind of boats, motored and sailing... been on surfboard, windsurfer board, and waterskis (these last three were a form of comedy revue), but not a canoe. Believe it or not.
Well, it was time to change that. And we are in the right place for it. In these neck o' the woods, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a canoe or a kayak. They are everywhere... every bit as ubiquitous as the surfboards were back in high school in Corpus Christi. Here a canoe, there a canoe, everywhere a canoe, canoe....
[caption id="attachment_174" align="alignleft" width="225"]
The view from my canoe[/caption]
Allison took care of calling and arranging our canoe trip, and after I had enough sleep on Sunday morning to be at least 25% coherent, we paid up, saddled up, and were dropped off at Swans Falls Campground, just a few minutes down the road from our camp. Our rental fees got us 1 bona fide canoe, 2 paddles, 2 life jackets, and a ride to and from the river. We loaded up the beach bag, small cooler, and off we went down the Saco River.
So what did I learn? I learned that I can handle a canoe just fine... (granted, we're not talking whitewater rapid running here)... but I also learned why there are so many of these darned things all over the place here. This activity, on this day, turned out to be one of the most relaxing and enjoyable things I have ever done. The Saco River is a gentle therapy, the definition of the "anti-rush"... and sometimes that is needed more than anything else.
We could not have ordered a more perfect day. Temps were reasonable, light breezes to keep the edge off the afternoon sun, and even the buggies weren't bad.
I would love to insert lots of anecdotes about strange things that happened on this trip, or a plethora of activities... well, actually I wouldn't. That wasn't the point. We floated, we paddled pretty much only as needed, we inhaled the beauty of God's creation, we sat on a sandbar and had drinks and snacks. We sat in the river and enjoyed it's crisp refreshment at the height of the day, and we waved at the Indian Acres as we passed... turns out we missed the boys' river swim by about an hour or so..
[caption id="attachment_176" align="alignleft" width="300"]
This tractor really sucks... literally[/caption]
There were a couple of things I noticed that caught my interest. We passed this tractor sitting up on part of the river bank, and it took me a bit to figure out what it was there for... it was obviously meant to pretty much stay there, and not be driven off. I figured out it was for irrigation... the tractor ran the pump that suctioned water and sent it up to the fields beyond. But it looked kind of out of place at first....
The second was the riverbank erosion and how it affected the trees. One can see how the trees collapse outward into the river as the banks erode out from underneath them. This one in particular that is undergoing that process is a very tall tree... when it gives, it will stick out several feet into the river. Made me wonder if someone will come along and trim it, or just let it lie...
[caption id="attachment_178" align="alignright" width="245"]
Timber!! Sometime in the future, that is...[/caption]
And that was the extent of my mental calisthenics for the day. Others on the river may be having a party on this fine Sunday... multiple tubes or canoes lashed together, music and dogs and water toys. During the summer in Maine, river partying and adventure is a common as skiing is during the winter. There's even a restaurant in Fryeburg that advertises a Saturday "après paddle party" on their marquee board.
[caption id="attachment_179" align="alignleft" width="300"]
My favorite view....[/caption]
But not me. Not this day. On this Day of Rest, I sat in a canoe with a beautiful woman.. and I glided.
And it was Good.
Well, it was time to change that. And we are in the right place for it. In these neck o' the woods, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a canoe or a kayak. They are everywhere... every bit as ubiquitous as the surfboards were back in high school in Corpus Christi. Here a canoe, there a canoe, everywhere a canoe, canoe....
[caption id="attachment_174" align="alignleft" width="225"]
The view from my canoe[/caption]Allison took care of calling and arranging our canoe trip, and after I had enough sleep on Sunday morning to be at least 25% coherent, we paid up, saddled up, and were dropped off at Swans Falls Campground, just a few minutes down the road from our camp. Our rental fees got us 1 bona fide canoe, 2 paddles, 2 life jackets, and a ride to and from the river. We loaded up the beach bag, small cooler, and off we went down the Saco River.
So what did I learn? I learned that I can handle a canoe just fine... (granted, we're not talking whitewater rapid running here)... but I also learned why there are so many of these darned things all over the place here. This activity, on this day, turned out to be one of the most relaxing and enjoyable things I have ever done. The Saco River is a gentle therapy, the definition of the "anti-rush"... and sometimes that is needed more than anything else.
We could not have ordered a more perfect day. Temps were reasonable, light breezes to keep the edge off the afternoon sun, and even the buggies weren't bad.
I would love to insert lots of anecdotes about strange things that happened on this trip, or a plethora of activities... well, actually I wouldn't. That wasn't the point. We floated, we paddled pretty much only as needed, we inhaled the beauty of God's creation, we sat on a sandbar and had drinks and snacks. We sat in the river and enjoyed it's crisp refreshment at the height of the day, and we waved at the Indian Acres as we passed... turns out we missed the boys' river swim by about an hour or so..[caption id="attachment_176" align="alignleft" width="300"]
This tractor really sucks... literally[/caption]There were a couple of things I noticed that caught my interest. We passed this tractor sitting up on part of the river bank, and it took me a bit to figure out what it was there for... it was obviously meant to pretty much stay there, and not be driven off. I figured out it was for irrigation... the tractor ran the pump that suctioned water and sent it up to the fields beyond. But it looked kind of out of place at first....
The second was the riverbank erosion and how it affected the trees. One can see how the trees collapse outward into the river as the banks erode out from underneath them. This one in particular that is undergoing that process is a very tall tree... when it gives, it will stick out several feet into the river. Made me wonder if someone will come along and trim it, or just let it lie...
[caption id="attachment_178" align="alignright" width="245"]
Timber!! Sometime in the future, that is...[/caption]And that was the extent of my mental calisthenics for the day. Others on the river may be having a party on this fine Sunday... multiple tubes or canoes lashed together, music and dogs and water toys. During the summer in Maine, river partying and adventure is a common as skiing is during the winter. There's even a restaurant in Fryeburg that advertises a Saturday "après paddle party" on their marquee board.
[caption id="attachment_179" align="alignleft" width="300"]
My favorite view....[/caption]But not me. Not this day. On this Day of Rest, I sat in a canoe with a beautiful woman.. and I glided.
And it was Good.
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