Cascadia Marine Trail considered for federal recognition!

150 miles of linked waterway...please contact your representatives and show your support for this project.

A summer full of paddling!

Nisqually Delta Mud Day: The Video

A summer tradition: Nisqually River delta!

Many "firsts" this past weekend...

Our young friend Daniel, from Florida, went on his first paddling trip this past weekend. During the trip we found out that paddling wasn't the only thing he was doing for the first time. Here's a partial list of the wonderful firsts he experienced:

• 1st time in a canoe
• 1st time in a kayak
• 1st time sitting around a campfire
• 1st time camping (sleeping in tent, etc.)
• 1st time seeing a bald eagle (and a first for many others seeing a bald eagle swimming!)
• 1st time throwing rocks at a stick launched from shore (what a great game this is!)
• 1st time eating fresh beer bread right out of the Dutch oven

It was great being with Daniel as he experienced these things and it reminded us yet again how great paddling can be for introducing people to the great outdoors.

Gotta love those firsts!

Family Paddling Article in Seattle's Child

Here's a recent article in Seattle's Child about family paddling. Summer is here, let's load up the boats1

You never know who you'll meet out there...

Hanging out at low tide

When the rain rolls in just pull on an extra layer of fleece, put on the rain gear and rain hat and you are set for the day. Unless you are an 8 year old boy - then you don't need the rain hat...

Beach = Playground

Places on the map and in the heart

This image was made on the last evening of a two week trip on the central coast of British Columbia a few years ago. The island is special to us because it represents a sort of half-way house. Two years in a row we made this our last camp before heading back to civilization to catch our southbound ferry home. It has been, twice now, a place of contemplation - a place between the wild and the tame. It is a place where the big knife remains useful and therefore stays strapped to our hips. But on the threshold of our work-a-day lives we realize there must be a yang to the yin we've been experiencing. It's OK because we know this won't be the last adventure. When the yang becomes too heavily weighted we'll seek the yin again. We may not return to this steep beach, but another will embrace us and we it.

So is there a moral to the story? A nugget to be mined? Perhaps. How's this?:

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.

- Henry David Thoreau

Hag House!

We've found over the years that kids can leave their toys at home when heading out on paddling trips. Sure, once in a while a favorite doll or stuffed animal might make its way into a dry bag, but that's usually where they stay. The fun of making toys from items found on the beach or in the woods is just too cool and there isn't enough time in the day to do it all.

In this photo, Julia has taken the idea of Kelpy Dolls and expanded it a bit. This is her "Hag House" and, although I never fully understood the exact nature of a Hag House (remember, I'm a grown up and therefore a bit slow with this stuff) I was intrigued. I think that's the hag in her hands (Kelp bulb) and the hanging seaweed is the ornamentation (or wigs?) that the hag has in her house.

But isn't it just like an adult to try to make logical sense of something as pure as play? It's not about logic for crying out loud! It's about fun and imagination and that's exactly what beach and island time allows us to find.

See you all at the Hag House!

A Mother's Day tradition - 2011 edition

Cool temperatures and some hard rain came along with us on this year's Mother's Day outing, but it didn't matter one bit. When it rained really hard we just hung out under the tarps and ate!

But rain always gives way to other kinds of weather and this trip was no exception. We even had some sun! The flowers were amazing and we saw all kinds of wildlife. Here's a sample:

• Seals - many of these on shore and in the water
• Bald Eagles - even saw one with a sea duck in it's talons!
• Surf Scoters - hundreds of them hanging out in big groups
• Hummingbirds
• Mergansers
• Red Necked Grebes
• Porpoises
• White Crowned Sparrows
• Dungeness Crabs
• Sea Lemon
• Rockweed Gunnel

And, of course, the people watching was good as always. Rain or shine it just matters not - Free Range Families find a way to have fun.

Family paddling season is now officially kicked off for 2011!

Paddling Seattle's Arboretum

A great place to begin the family paddling journey is in Seattle's Arboretum area (if you are in Seattle). This is a sheltered spot full of things to discover. This time of the year we like to poke our noses in here and go "turtle hunting." Some years we've counted as many as 70 or 80 turtles and this never fails to entertain kids and adults. There's also great bird watching, people watching, boat watching ( all sorts of sailboats, motor boats, kayaks, canoes, inflatables). And there are two beaver houses along the way. Much to do...

Park in the parking lot for the Museum of History and Industry - there's a grassy space and a nice, easy spot for a put-in. This can also be a good launch point for a longer day of urban paddling if you head west to Portage Bay and Lake Union. Even longer if you continue west to Ballard (and out the locks?).

Spring is in the air.

Seattle's Lake Union

We finally got a warm and sunny day here in the Seattle area this past weekend. What better way to absorb some rays than paddling? As we've mentioned before here on the blog, Seattle's Lake Union is a fine urban paddle with all sorts of things to see. The top image is at the very south end of the lake where there is a park where you can take out and have a picnic. The bottom image was taken at the north end of the lake and shows Gasworks Park.

It was fun to see so many people out paddling, including some families in canoes. As usual, we stopped for fish and chips at Ivar's. What a day!

Rainwater collection from the tarp

On our trips along the coast of British Columbia and Washington there's a lot of water around, but it's almost all salt water. We carry a lot of fresh water on our trips for drinking and cooking, and we're always on the lookout for streams so we can replenish the water bags. But one of the best ways to collect water is to gather it off the big tarp when we get a good downpour. It's surprising just how much water comes off a tarp in just a short time. So grab that pot or water bottle and catch that rainwater!

Food!

In our family paddling presentations we always emphasize the importance of snacks for kids (and adults). But really, it goes waaaayy beyond just snacks. Much of our time in camp is spent cooking. Cake, scones, mussels, fried fish, beer bread, and a host of other goodies are on offer under and around the big tarp. Time to eat!

Kids volunteering - Washington Water Trails Assoc. work party

This past Saturday some young paddlers were spotted working hard at the new campsite at Wolfe Property State Park near Hood Canal in Washington. Clearing brush, hauling it away, loading and carrying rocks and being good team players. Good times!

Family Paddling Presentation, April 16, 2011

We're headed to Minneapolis to attend the Outdoor Adventure Expo put on by Midwest Mountaineering. As usual, we'll be spreading the word about the joys of getting in a human powered boat with family members and paddling into the sunset.

Ice!

Here in western Washington we have a mild climate that allows us to paddle right through the winter, so it's a bit rare to have much ice on the water. However, this past weekend was cold enough to give us some pockets of ice to play in. The kids had a great time despite a cold breeze!

For this trip we put in right in downtown Tacoma and paddled out into Commencement Bay. Seriously urban paddling, but even then life was all around, especially in the form of water birds.

Good fun!