Kayaking Freaks

From the Nose of Our Kayak Don & Janet Beasley Chapter 20: A Beautiful Day...What Can We Say The reason you either live or travel to Michigan's U.P. is to experience days such as these. The sky was bluer than any we'd ever seen, the cloud formations were unique, and the wildlife was plenty.  We launched our kayak into the Tahquamenon River once again. We took our time flowing downriver, paddling only when we wanted to as we wanted the day to last forever.  Our first glance from the nose of our kayak on the river was awesome. The water had no ripples...it was actually a mirror. The brackish water was clear, and the sights beneath its crystal top were as beautiful as the sky. The vegetation laid in the direction of the water's flow. Lilly pads came into view and we stopped to gaze upon their serenity.  As we coasted a bit farther down river we began to see flocks of one of our favorite birds, cedar waxwings. Something about their striking appeara...

From the Nose of Our Kayak Don & Janet Beasley Chapter 18: "Wide Open Spaces...and a Little Stinker!" Don prepares for the day While in Michigan we decided to try a new outing...Munuscong River. So we loaded up the new #WildernessSystems tandem kayak and headed out for the day. Map of Munuscong Area Munuscong juts off to the west from Munuscong Lake,  a flat prairie-style body of water with an amazing view.  The St. Mary's River, southwest of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, splits around Neebish Island and empties into Munuscong Lake northeast of Munuscong River. The Objibway heading south (down bound) into the rock cut The lake freighters that are traveling up river take the channel of the St. Mary's River that lies to the east of Neebish Island, and those traveling down river use the west side of the island, which locals refer to as "the rock cut," a very narrow man-made pass between the mainland of Michigan's U.P. and N...

From the Nose of Our Kayak Don & Janet Beasley Chapter 13: Dreams This week Don and I invite you to dream with us, to dream about the places you'd love to experience from the nose of  your  kayak. But be forewarned...once you start dreaming, it's hard to stop!  The sky's the limit when it comes to adventure. Now days, Don and I prefer kayaking the smooth calm waters rather than white water. In our younger years we did a bit of white water rafting and thoroughly enjoyed it. If we would have taken up kayaking in our 20's we would probably have been Eskimo rolling our way down big white water, sailing through class 5+ rapids, going over falls, and spending our days in wet suits while camping and feasting on s'mores. But just because we are approaching retirement age, and like to take life a bit easier these days, that doesn't mean we don't like to dream. Below is a selection of some of our favorite kayaking videos we enjoy watching and dreaming about the pl...

From the Nose of Our Kayak Don & Janet Beasley Chapter 10: Canoe vs. Kayak Being December in Florida brings some of the most beautiful weather in the nation. Nice cool, comfortable temperatures mixed with plenty of sunshine and bright blue skies. December, like November, is a continuation of an autumn feel in the air.  Believe it or not, we dashed back to Rock Springs Run for one more run in 2010, and our visiting went family with us. At the time we didn't have but only one tandem kayak at the house in Florida, that being the Wilderness Systems T145 "Mean Greenie" as we like to call it. That meant we needed to rent a vessel for our guests. The rental house didn't have any kayaks available at the time, so our company decided it was fine with them to tackle the river in a canoe.  Even though a canoe and a kayak are similar, you'll find some differences. For starters each one has its own "look" about it. A canoe has an open bow and aft, meaning the fron...

From the Nose of Our Kayak Don & Janet Beasley Chapter  9  Back Down Rock Springs We Go...This Time to Check Out the Scenery Don at the end of the Rock Springs Run Wekiva Island pick-up destination As we mentioned in our last chapter, we would be back to kayak the Rock Springs Run. And here we are, only a few weeks later. This trip happened on November 18, 2010. You may be surprised that we get the beautiful colors of autumn here in Florida, but depending on your location and how the weather has played out, you could very well find yourself in a wilderness of all of the fall colors you long for...yes, in Florida! We launched our Wilderness Systems kayak early morning, and decided to take our time now that we knew how long it actually takes to get to the pick-up point (Don and I have done the run in as fast as 2 hours...but that was paddling for exercise, not scenery).  Before we even exited the canal onto the river, the fall leaves were showing themselves, danci...