Just before

the weather blew in.

Got off the water just in time; the weather took a turn for the nasty. High winds lightening and pelting rain to the north moving fast towards our location.

A quick but inviting paddle on the Bark River a great way to end the day. Monday looms; I hope the serenity holds me to at least break.

I wonder how Team Kruger fared as the storms blew in - The Capt'n

Dances with Wolves

playing in the background. Damn TV is on,

I load up a day bag thermos of coffee and bagel. Grab for the wood paddles. dawn the wool and head out for a reflective paddle in the early morning light.

This area is so rich in Native American History, the autumn colors are a great back drop for reflection. Very humbling.

Time to paddle, enrich the mind - The Capt'n

The greys of autumn

Duffing the shoreline paddling the morning glass; the greys of autumn are coming quickly. Weather is going to take a turn in the next couple of days, glad to have gotten out this morning.

Girls still crashed out after Boo's 13th Birthday party. What a hoot, 13...wow.

Paddling goose pond, not a soul out on the water. Got a late start with trying to interface google earth and spot over on the Kruger Canoes Blog for the up-coming Ultimate Kruger Challenge.

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I'll be playing host and play by play commentator as I did on the Ultimate Hugh Heward. Another grand adventure in Michigan.

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Whoops I hear the girls stirring, time to roll; Off to the Dells for some off season birthday fun - The Capt'n

I definately

Brett Rogers

wanna hang with this Dude.

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With Emily completing applications for Colleges (art institutes), it's exciting for me to look at up and coming adventure film makers like Brett Rogers.
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Their trailer video is a classic of "what the....." Click here

Live the adventure - Brett Rogers

NC Challenge 2009 is underway

Dawn "SandyBottom" Stewart

Check out the NC Challenge 2009 mapper - click here

Way to go Dawn (race director) putting on a clinic on race directing - The Capt'n

Happy 13th Birthday Boo!!

Doubt not; There are no limits to your dreams... Set you compass to Dreamland and enjoy the journey - Love Dad

All these challenges...

Photo by Greg Stamer

“The Race Around Australia Expedition” - Freya Hoffmeister

Expected to take her roughly one year, the 9,400 mile (15.000 km) journey around the southern continent is considered one of, if not the, most challenging trip in the world of sea kayaking.

While there have been dozens of attempts, if Freya makes it, she’ll become the first woman to complete the journey and only the second person since Paul Caffyn, her friend and mentor from the NZ trip, did it 27 years ago.

Kinda makes my Wednesday night adventure on Token Creek in the fleeting daylight look a tad boring. Though I did come across a couple of duck hunters who were hunting in a restricted area. They backed off when they saw I was paddling with Koa the wonder dog.

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All these challenges going on; where's the remote? Survivor Samoa is on tonight - The Capt'n

and a few words from Manitou

Hi Everyone!
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I wanted to let you all know about a small paddle trip we have going next week. In our efforts to raise money for the Verlen Kruger Memorial ( www.VerlenKrugerMemorial.org ) we have been organizing paddle trips/challenges that give folks a chance to get out and do some traveling.
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Entry fees are small so we don't make much on them, but we hope that in our travels we can get the word out on what we are doing and see if we might be able to drum up a few brick sales or donations.
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Next weeks trip will take us across the state of Michigan by way of the Au Sable and Manistee Rivers. You can follow all the action at www.KrugerCanoes.blogspot.com .
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Be sure to click on the SPOT trackers, if you have not seen Spot before it is a GPS broadcast unit that some of us carry that gives real time updates of our progress.
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Thanks for all of your support, please feel free to pass this information on to anyone you think might be interested.

All the Best!!!
Mark Przedwojewski ( manitou cruiser )
www.KrugerCanoes.com

Old Man River -

Old Man River Expedition - Click Here

What more can I say but...

See ya down river - Terry Larson

Hunting for the truth

It's that time of year when I balance eggs on end to amaze and dazzle the young'ns. The Fall equinox is upon us... let the show begin!! Opening act in one hour!!

True eggheads know the Earth's alignment on its axis causes many miraculous phenomena. The changing of the season's is one; an upright egg is not. "You can balance an egg on its end any time of the year if you have the patience." - They

What do you expect from a non-believers; I bet "They" don't believe is Santa Claus either, yet I get gifts from him every year - The Capt'n

Take me to the river

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You can't keep a good dog down. Koa ready for a paddle. At least let me put the boat in the water!
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Another outstanding weekend for paddling. Friday I left straight from work to get out on the water before the sun set. Drats, I ran out of daylight and ended camping down at Pinewoods State campground. Big mistake.
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Not sure if it was the green fire wood incident ( which included the bundle rolling off my roof and busting all over the pavement, great entertainment for the on lookers and passer bys), the howling dogs, screaming kids or vehicles passing my campsite that I appreciated more.
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No, it was the Goose that just about took me out with his right on target fly by crap bomb that hit me in the parking lot. I'm tell'n ya, it was like getting hit with a water balloon at high velocity. 60 minutes into the weekend and I'm changing out clothes.
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Day 2, early morning...
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Koa and I paddled the Lake Country area. It would be a short two hour paddle before going home switching out boats and picking up Debbie for an overnight on the Wisconsin River.

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Looking at some lake property... Hmm could probably afford the dwelling the the land and taxes will kill ya.
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One of my favorite campsites locally. Haven't been there in multiple years, just never seemed to work out, but I thought I'd go a shore and check it out.
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This is what I found. I was flabbergasted, disgusted and down right angry. This is a jewel of an island completely run a muck by a bunch of hillbilly redneck fisherman. The icing on the cake was Koa was busy rolling around in their fish kill.
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Switched out boats, grabbed the Kruger Cruiser and Debbie and headed out to the Wisconsin River. Looking for some serenity and found it.
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We put in at Arena and did an up river paddle for an hour or so, cut wood, set camp and caught this wonderful sunset.

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I introduced Debbie to Glacier Sipp'n water (pineapple vodka over ice), Sky lanterns and one of my favorite camp meals, grilled quesadillia.

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In her altered state, I forced her to listen to my twisted tales of high sea adventures and lore..... You know, the days of ironmen and wooden ships. A pirates life for me sort of stuff.
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Fogged in till about 9:00am, we settled in with steamy mugs of coffee and hot griddle cakes. The fog lifted and we continued up stream for a couple of hours.
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Found a great lunch spot and watched the day paddlers drift on by. One could sit beside a river all day and study its form and it would not be a wasted day.
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Koa was in her glory playing a game of fetch and digging in the sand, Ah life on the river...
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Just take 'n it all in - The Capt'n

Times are a changing

The days are getting shorter, loosing about 3 minutes of daylight a day now... Sunsets come quickly. Fall has arrived.
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We have had a stroke of luck with the summer like weather. It has been absolutely gorgeous these past few weeks. Been paddling and tramping around the woods as much as humanly possible.
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Heading out this weekend, a potpourri of paddling. Paddle and stealth camp this evening, most likely local, in the sacred Aztalan Crawfish Area. There is something about paddle camping in an area with such rich Indian history.
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Doing quick checks for updates on Larry "Coach" Hoff who is paddling the length of the Wisconsin River. Trying to gauge his where a bouts. Would love to run across him this weekend somewhere on the river. Jim Woodruff's blog has the most recent info on his adventure. Looks like he is on some epic portage, then off to the Packer game on Sunday.
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It's all good. Debbie and I will paddle the lower Wisconsin River section between Arena and Peck's landing Saturday and Sunday. Tonight.... we go stealth.
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K-dog and I are going native and taking in the energy around the sacred mounds...
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Catch me if you can... - The Capt'n

In the news, scratch

that; In the now....

• John and Carl's The Paddl'in Shop has closed its doors do to hard economic times. Dang!

Good luck my friends, see you out on the pond!

• Marissa runs cross county for Shorewood Middle School will miss Saturday's Cross Country Meet do to injury. Son of a...

Sorry about the ankle Boo, rest elevate and some ice!!

• Wisconsin's summer weather comes late into September. Another fantastic weekend ahead of us. Sweet Judy...

Jeep is packed, boat is loaded. I have been scouring the paddling southern Wisconsin trail guide, too many choices!! One thing for sure back wheels will be rolling at 4:31pm; destination unknown.

Capt'n reporting

Smoke and mirrors...

Yep that's what I saw or I think I saw... A Golden Eagle on the Rock River North of Kanow Park?
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The key to this sighting was he was only 30 feet above my head as he flew right over my canoe. I did a bit of head scratching looked up a bunch of hawks, osprey, and other birds of prey on line, but it looked just like the picture. Is seeing believing?
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So I did some checking and low and behold there are Golden Eagles in Wisconsin, but mostly Western Wisconsin.

What has changed over the last couple of years is the usage of this section of the Rock River. Downed trees keep the fishing boats at bay, shallow waters and rock gardens have appeared that I have never experienced on this section of the river. I assume this change is do to the flooding of 2008. We had record river levels and hundreds of displaced families in Jefferson County.

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I had a drag over and a duck under that proved interesting with the dog and a full boat of gear. (Camped the night before at Sand Hill Crane State Park). Also saw a late hatch of turkeys and geese that proved equally entertaining.

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This section has a real remote feel to it, high tree lined banks should make this a fall colors paddling must. Stealth camping is possible but expect muddy banks and hostile land owners. I did come across one island that has camp possibilities; mums the word...

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Shhh; You can almost hear the banjo music. -The Capt'n

Number Nine (9)

Yahoo News:

Though technically there's nothing special about the symmetrical date, some concerned with the history and meaning of numbers ascribe powerful significance to 09/09/09.

Nothing special? No significance? Surly you jest:

• Cat has nine lives
• I presently have nine canoes and kayaks in the boat house
• In nine years I'll be 60!!
• I have had nine pets thus far in my life time
• I'm presently wearing underwear that is nine years old.

This is no coincidence my friend, I'm looking for crop circles - The Capt'n

The man the myth...

Outstanding 4 day trip on the Wisconsin River. The players: Brian D., Thor, Patrick, Gary, Judy, Cheryl Ann, Kathy, Sandy, "Koa", and myself.
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Weather was perfect, light breeze (no bugs); Sun filled skies, beautiful nights with near full moons.
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We camped mostly on islands. One would think that it would be pretty busy out there on Labor Day weekend, but it wasn't too bad. It's a big river.
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A parting shot of Patrick as he pulls out on Sunday at Pine River (Gotham). He has a big trip to pack for out in Utah on the Green River. There was something about chores around the house before he left. Almost had him talked into another night on the river. Thor and Cheryl Ann pulled out too, you can see them in the background. Cheryl Ann's first paddle trip, she did great!! Back to the interstate... back to the world.

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Judy, Kathy, Sandy, Brian D. "Koa" and I paddled on. Gary day paddled on Friday and had to take off. He was going an a MCP trip on the Lemonweir River on Saturday.

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Patrick is the man. A wealth of knowledge of paddling in general; but his keen observation and commitment to the Wisconsin River has made him a master guide in these areas, everything wild in Wisconsin. Effigy mounds, campsites, birds and plants. Did you know there are native cactus in Wisconsin? Well we do now.
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The man the myth... Patrick... he told me quite clearly he is working very hard to becoming a professional paddle bum. I hope he gives lessons, sounds very appealing.

Plenty of pictures to be had. Sandy's pics - Click Here

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Trip Highlights: (In no particular order)

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• history lesson(s)
• perfect weather
• great campsites
• outstanding group
• unbelievable food
• stimulating conversation
• sky lanterns, and drumming
• the greatest fishing story every told

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Back to the interstate, back to the world..... back to work. - The Capt'n

We...

Gone paddling... see ya on the other side of Labor Day!

I thought about it

Got this e-mail yesterday...

Brian,

I am looking for a paddling partner to help me set the Rhine River canoe record next April. Would you be interested in being that guy?

http://www.conquertherhine.com/


Call me for more details.

Thanks Mike

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It's would seem somewhat foolish to turn down fully sponsored all expense paid paddling adventure abroad next year, but in the scheme of things; Racing and records really isn't what I'm looking for.
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I paddle for the freedom it brings, how it touches the soul as you silently push from shore and the people you meet have all slowed their being down to a reasonable hum where you can hold an enlightened conversation.
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Challenges, which for me are not races, but an opportunity to look deep within one's self. You get a glimpse of yourself in the best and sometimes worst of times. I'll do more challenges, organized or not. Racing doubtful, but I thought about it.
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I started paddling when I was a wee lad. Who knows the actual date or year, but my first paddling adventure was with my cousin Dave. An uphill paddle as we headed up the Oconomowoc River. I was about 10 years old Dave about 8; Right after getting a first run addition of Tom Sawyer from my Great Grandmother Lake. Yes her name was Lake.
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A day trip it was, but the freedom it gave us, a sense of adventure.... and our parents never knew we were gone. Or did they and have the sense to leave canoe and paddle so conveniently by the shore in hopes of our discovery? It's a mystery.
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I'm pretty sure they knew what they were doing. They let mother nature babysit us while they went through their daily routine.
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Up by six; Home by dark. Meals at home optional - Ah to be a kid again in the Lake Country area. - The Capt'n

A Short Story

Some times you just have to force a hug from your daughter!

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Three Days with the Captain of the O Dark 30 -A MCP Paddle
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The Players: Kathy, Laurel, Lois, Marissa, Sandy, “The Firewood Fairy” Debbie, Chris, Jim, Skylar, Tom, Vern, The Capt’n (of course) and Koa (the wonder dog)
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Friday - was a pleasant paddle up the Rock river and back to the Conservation Club. The group enjoyed blue herons, river otters and a hornet’s nest over hanging the river; something like you would imagine in a Winnie the Pooh fable.
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Jim arrived and with him he brought the thunderstorms and his grandson Skylar… The group opted for dinner out at Applebee’s where we enjoyed the lightening storm from the comforts of the restaurant. Good call!!
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The weather cleared and we enjoyed another fantastic camp fire by Vern. If you haven’t paddle camped with Vern, you are in for a treat. He is the Fire Master.
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There was a lot of discussion and stories on rabbits, dogs and the abuse of camp chairs. Each of us took or shot at upping the last story. Vern wins – but the story will never be repeated.
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Saturday - found us altering the paddle a bit to accommodate the high winds and brisk temperatures. We dropped the Lac La Belle section with its two portages and large fetch. All were quite pleased to forgo the whitecaps and wet ride across the lake.

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We put in on Fowler lake made our way up the Oconomowoc river then portaged to Oconomowoc lake. We then dropped back into the Oconomowoc river up to Okauchee lake. On our return we stopped in at the Kiltie Drive Inn for lunch and custard. Kathy was duped by the car hop; We thought for sure she was going to boil over, especially after getting hefty speeding ticket on the way to the put-in. She amazed us and took it in stride.
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We celebrated our successful paddle by review at the “German Bar” nestled on the shores of Fowler lake. Now the events at this tavern are very clear to me, though others may express their own views, but the fact of the matter is; Jim lost his pants! Ask me no questions I tell you no lies… but truth be told!! There was a MCP depanting!!
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More pelting rain during the dinner hour, found us tucked in to Fiesta’s Mexican restaurant for a Mucho Bueno Dinner and more laughter at Jim’s expense.
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True to form, the rain subsided after dinner and we had another fine camp fire by Vern.

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Sunday - the sun shown bright! We almost forgot what the sun was, but relished in its warmth on our faces.
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A short shuttle and we were off! We put in at Prince’s Point on the Bark river and made our way down to Fort Atkinson were we were greeted by the remains of the music festival Rhythm on the River.

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It was extremely windy and Skylar (10yrs. Old) struggled in his play boat. I set up a tow and it was working pretty well, until the wind caught his bow pushed him sideways and he dumped! A quick rescue found him nestled in my canoe and we towed his kayak to a quieter section of the river.
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We all made it off with out other incident. Safe and sound we said our good byes. Till then… paddle paddle.
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The End.

Out with the old and in with the...

Wasp nest over hanging the Rock River. Very active indeed. Marissa was not to keen on getting close to get a picture. We tried to get Jim to take it home and hang it in his living room. :-)

Out with the old and in with the not so aesthetic new. I'm into bridges that are old and have character, not sure why their cool, but I like them. Must be the craftsmanship.

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There is a great DNR launch on the far side for fisherman and boating enthusiasts. This launch puts you on the exclusive Oconomowoc Lake. Oconomowoc was known as the Newport of the Midwest.

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The premiere of the Wizard of OZ was here at the Strand Theater, Mark Twain spent many a day at the Pine Terrace Estate and also had quite an influence on me as a young lad. My Mom and Dad got me out on the water, Twain gave it a sense of adventure.

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I fancy my self a riverboat captain - The Capt'n