Thursday, June 30, 2016

Our Big Canoe Trip ~ Kickapoo River Review

I'd say that canoeing the Kickapoo is pretty easy, yet by the time you've gone nearly 9 miles on the river, your skills will be brushed up quite a bit.

We chose to use Titanic Canoe Rentals because the website said specifically that they were dog friendly. We thought Morris would like to do an adventure with us.

The owner of Titanic was pleasant and thought it was great that we were taking Morris. We soon pushed off and 'went with the flow' as Bill told us to.

Morris kept an eye on the other canoers and kayakers. Having a cute little dog made us very popular. One girl especially kept asking to pet him and of course Morris was accommodating.

 Morris Navigates!

 Morris Naps


Morris is Captain!
The river was very low and slow and in places of course the current was swift and went around sharp bends. 

When we started Ariel had no idea how to hold a paddle. Soon though she began to figure things out.

For the first 4 bridges, the river was crowded and as the owner of Titanic told us, the river would have some idiots on it.
We were not surprise to round the bend and hear a dad yelling at his son NOT to stand in the canoe EVER again!


We floated past as then righted their canoe and when the dad tried to get back in he went ... ker-splash! We went on as they had a ton of people helping and we never saw them again.

We continued on and found a quiet place to eat our sandwiches. We stopped in other places to let Morris explore the 'beach' and Ariel wanted to wade.


The water wasn't too cold as the Kickapoo is muddy and stays a bit warm. Our stops were pleasant.
When we neared the Wildcat area near the canoe launch there, we realized that we might be running a bit late on our time.

However.
With this scenery, we couldn't just paddle on by.



It is not recommended to take a 'good' expensive camera on this trip. I can see why. But I think renting a Kayak this fall would be an awesome way to see some fall colors.

I would recommend also that if you were to canoe the Kickapoo, do it during the week. Weekends can get crazy.

If you can spare the time canoe to Bridge 7, 10 or 12. Once you get past 5 most of the party folks are left behind.

Bring water, lots of water. Bring a lunch. Make sure everything that is valuable is in a zip lock bag with air in it. [Helps things float if you capsize.] 
And ... well you would have to try and capsize your canoe.

If you have a good pet you want to bring, Titanic advertises that they are pet friendly. And the owner and Shuttle Bus driver were exactly that. Everyone that we met, even the fellow from Drifty's was polite and friendly.

Of course this is their summer business.

My grand daughter is 12 and will be 13 in August. How did she like it? She did! 
She never complained, she never whined, she was a trooper. She learned to paddle and even learned to read the current ahead of her.

Morris? I think he was happy to get back on land when we finished. He was tired, after all, he is 12 yrs old now too.

I am thinking that a kayak adventure is in store for me this fall.
I've always wanted to try it.


This whole day cost us $30. Was it worth it? Yes. Yes.
Yes!


1 comment:

  1. What an awesome adventure for all involved! I bet you were voted "Best Grandma Ever" that day!

    ReplyDelete

Please include at least your first name if you are commenting Anonymously. Thank you.