"Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially when my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping out into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off -- then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball." -- Herman Melville, Moby Dick
And now here I am some more, come back to tell you all. Note the nifty new map below which will soon veritably e X p L o D e with marker locations leading to pages and pages of descriptions of favorite paddling haunts, each featuring More Maps and virtually up-to-the-minute launch point analysis including Boat Ramps and Live Weather Conditions (from real live weather stations very near the associated paddling locale), along with Important River & Lake Conditions (on some pages) pulled from Official Taxpayer-Provided River & Lake Gauges, not to mention Rafts & Reams of Pictures as well as Hogsheads of Other Important Factoids that you can stuff in a dry-satchel and portage to the river, creek, lake, or ocean with you. Please bookmark the place, or better yet, link it up on websites around the globe so that others can enjoy the marvel of it all, and then you be sure to come back often and soon, too.
2008 Log & Reports 2007 Log & Reports 2006 Log 2005 Log 2004 Gallery 2001 GalleryDo not panic, please!
This haiku may disappear,
Javascript willing.
2007: The Year that Was that's About to Be
It's gonna be a rootin' tootin' year, cuz all ready I can feel it in my bones. Stay abreast with the 2007 log.
2006: Like Peas in Pods
It's a funny world, and we had a funny year. The farthest we strayed in the paddlingsphere, so far, was a quick sojourn to Lake Shelbyville, deep in the heart of the Illinois. For most of the rest of our endeavors, we made the rounds of everything we could find within an hour and a half of our home bases. Have a look at the 2006 log. And if Autumn goes easy on us there will be more to come, so y'all come back soon, hear?
Water Water Everywhere in 2005
With the unmistakeable first blasts of winter's chill blowing across the hills, fields, and assorted 
K&M at Stonewall Jacksonkayakways, it looks to be that the 2005 paddling season is closing a full two weeks earlier than usual.
However, despite Autumn's short, but sweet, passage, the year proved to be a profitable one, with a record number of trips at an amazing array of new locations, adding up to a record number of miles paddled.
As always, the end-of-year pages (and more!) are in the hopper and flopping around at high speed, being readied for your eager perusal, and... first out of the gate is the general log of the year's kayak activity. Have a look, won't you?
A Partial 2004 Kayak Tour
From the Creeks 'tween the Mountains, to the Slough by the Bay, to the River's relentless run to the Ocean by the Shore... 
put yourself below deck and paddle with Mike in 2004.
Yea, verily, it was one of those years, and the accompanying swath of photographs doesn't do it justice by a long shot, but there's a smattering (so to speak) of cool birds there, and a hint of a flavor of the overall endeavor.
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Misc Paddling Pix from 2001In 2001 I took up the kayak, and have been playing it ever since. These are a few pictures, loosely associated with kayaking, taken back in that first year. |
frankenclam & co.
