Bucket List Trip

Here is an exciting adventure we can paddle right our back yard. did you know that you can paddle the Minnesota River from Ortenville all the way to the Mississippi river in Minneapolis? According to the MN DNR website at http://dnr.state.mn.us/watertrails/minnesotariver/index.html The Minnesota River flows 318 miles from Big Stone Lake in Ortonville to its confluence with the Mississippi River near Fort Snelling in St. Paul. It is a gentle, placid river, with some portions designated as a Wild and Scenic River.

The valley through which the river flows was carved into the landscape by the glacial River Warren between 11,700 and 9,400 years ago. Paddlers will see a diversity of terrain, ranging from steep granite bluffs to marshy lowlands.

As far as a paddling adventure, it looks like it would take a week or more to paddle it all in one go. But it could be broken up easily into segments and completed in multiple trips. There is a fantastic site at http://mrbdc.mnsu.edu/minnesota-river-virtual-tour-map that takes you on a virtual tour of the river and provides resources to planning out your trip or hooking up with a guide.

This trip is definitely going on my Bucket List!

New Year, New Resolve

As the sun sets on another beautiful evening on Lake Pelican, yet another blog post goes by the wayside.

Today's post is dedicated to Lake Pelican, located just south of Watertown South Dakota.
Lake Pelican Google Map

Lake Pelican was created when a huge ice cube broke away from the last glacier and was covered by sand and silt. The lake measures approximately five miles long, a mile wide and has a max depth of about 7 feet. Pelican is situated East Northeast and has good access points in many places. The best and easiest access sites are two State Parks on the south west end and the Skinny Krull access on the Northeast end and yet there are undeveloped access points at most section lines.

Due to the prevailing winds, water depth, and how the lake is orientated the waves seldom top 24 inches and is easy to paddle. I have seen beaver, pelicans, and various shore birds on my many trips along the lake.

January

Not a lot of paddling going on this month. The water is a bit hard to get through. just thought i would mention that the South Dakota Canoe and Kayak Assoc. annual meeting is Feb 1st at the outdoor campus in Sioux Falls. https://www.facebook.com/groups/15793060604/

Also I am hosting a "Build a Boat" class through Lake Area Technical Institute on March 11th, more news on that as it gets closer. http://www.lakeareatech.edu/cu/index.html

TTFN

Catching up

Took out the wood kayak last night (no leaks). What a beautiful night to work out some frustrations and sore muscles. Just a light north east breeze, just enough to keep the sweat down but not enough to keep the mosquitoes off. The tunes I downloaded from ocean lab really match the paddle rhythm and the water just cruses by. I only had time for a couple of miles but finished feeling refreshed and comfortably tired.

Spring Time

Yes I think it is finally here. The river is running and the ice is starting to disappear  Only 24 days until the South Dakota Kayak Challenge.
Not a lot of runoff from the Big Sioux Basin so if you want to run the river, it should be soon.

Paddle Pictures

Lake Pelican

The weather was too nice last evening and I had to put the kayak in for an hour's cruse. We wont get many more days like this before the water gets hard.

happy paddling!

Not where I should be

Its been really tough today to stay on task. I watched a mock documentary called "Troll Hunters" this weekend, it was a fun movie based in Norway. Which brings my wandering thoughts to what it would be like to paddle the fjords and waterways of that country. What would we see, smell, hear and feel. Would I like to try my hand at fishing? Or just soaking up the solitude of mirrored water reflecting mountains and sky. I should be working diligently towards my project goals, but the weatherman is promising snow for tonight. The first accumulation of the season, will it be a genital snow? Or will the northwest wind drive it into the shorelines and push the heavy waves up on the beach? If given the chance I would like to be out on the water while it snows. On a windless night, with gently falling snow, the air crisp yet fuzzy with big flakes that stick to your eyelashes yet melt softly when touched by something warm.