I just finished packing and I have way too much stuff. How can one accurately estimate how much food one will eat in a month? It's all a guessing game. I will meet up with the Debs on Wednesday, and I'm sure they will have way too much stuff also. The problem is that we... Continue Reading →
Four Weeks
It is four weeks until we push off to finish the Canadian part of the Red River, followed by the 250 miles of Lake Winnipeg. The Winnipeg Free Press reports that "the Red River has crested and flooding season has essentially ended." Perhaps we won't have to relive our mudhole experiences from last year. The... Continue Reading →
Two months and counting
Even though there is wind chill of 17° this morning, it is April 1st, no fooling, and it is spring! Time to get working on the next leg of our canoe trip to Hudson Bay. This year's planning will be more extensive than in the past because we will be paddling in areas where there... Continue Reading →
Trouble ahead
We pushed off into a windy Lake Winnipeg on the second leg of our trip to Hudson Bay. Within minutes our canoe was taking in water over the bow because of the big waves. Debbie and Debbie both concluded that the best way to avoid taking on water was to move to the back of... Continue Reading →
The Big, Wide Red
I am excited to tell you that a story about our Red River paddling trip has just been published in the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer. This is a magazine published by the Minnesota DNR that seeks to preserve, protect, and publicize Minnesota's natural treasures. Check it out here: (pressing the blue letters should give you the... Continue Reading →
It’s a wrap!
We paddled 456 miles in 18 days, from Lake Traverse on the eastern border of South Dakota, to Pembina, North Dakota, on the Canadian border. ln the process we lost 2 shoes, one bandana, a bag of cords, a head net, and a flashlight. We gained a new perspective on the Red River as a... Continue Reading →
Done!
After another extremely windy day on the river, daughter Rachel picked us up in Pembina. We are happy to be finished, yet glad we did it I will write a more retrospective and introspective post when I have recovered.
June 25
We ended up staying in the emergency shelter in Drayton last night. It was the old school gym and had a kitchen and bathroom. We were in heaven! The storms outside seemed to rage on forever. This morning our canoe was half full of water. We fought a wind all day again today. When it... Continue Reading →
Drayton
We are sitting in a bar in Drayton ND, waiting for the tornado warnings and torrential rain to end. We had lots of wind today. When it was in our faces, it was tough.We had 12-inch rollers coming at us because of the wind. But when it was at our backs, we flew! We passed... Continue Reading →
June 23
We had a good day today paddling. We saw no humans, no boats, several pelicans, a beaver, some swans, some geese, some ducks, a turtle, some fish. We are the queens of our own little empire, high above the water with a breeze, cotton, and mud. We had cherry cheesecake for supper. We washed all... Continue Reading →