Don't be a muggle

Here Robert and I are geocaching.
Charles 

I'm not a muggle!!!!

Today I finally went kayaking!!! We also went geocaching!! It was so fun!!
Charles

Danger

The Chief Water Dog read that "Danger" sign announcing that large quantities of water can be release at any time, without warning, and she wondered why we were there...

The First Paddler writes:
geo is crazy.

Good Friends

The Chief Water Dog and the First Paddler adore one another this morning at Red Bud.
I can't believe I caught this beautiful exchange with my camera.

"And she did."

The Chief rolls a pancake on Lake Austin. We read "The Little Red Hen" from that book next to the pancake.
"And she did" is that wonderful line from the book where the Little Red Hen listens to the "Not I" from everyone and she just does it herself... 

Starting the Day at Red Bud Isle

Charles T, our NCJ Editor, paddles this morning on our journey around Red Bud Isle. 

The Chief Water Splasher digs for an under water treasure... 

The Chief Water Splasher and I went out this morning early. This sets the scene nicely... 

A major tree house building project has kept the NCJ busy during many of the last weekends. But, this weekend we are taking a tree house break... 

A massive two story treehouse building project that occupied most of our July - Aug has kept us out of the water.
This is about to change... 

Here they are at the end of the cove.
The river is more full than usual. This is in part because of a regional effort by the State to exterminate thousands of acres of juniper trees in recent years. Junipers have been overtaking the nearby ranchland for decades. Getting rid of the junipers has allowed the water table to rise, thereby increasing the flow of water in the rivers. 

The Chief Water Splasher and I followed the Chief Birder and First Paddler into a lush cove without knowing where we would end up. Spring Creek is an oasis in the middle of a desert. There is heavy undergrowth and no one around to bother us.
We were often trailing our kayakers... 

Kayaking Spring Creek

We were joined on this trip by Grandmom Cheryl, who is also known by us as the Chief Birder. I was too busy to fighting the wind to enjoy much birding, but our kayakers had an easier time of it. There was a huge Blue Heron that startled all of us by flying over head from a nearby tree.
Canoers should factor in the impact of the wind while paddling in West Texas. I'm sure we had gusts of 25 mph, if not more. That made taking pictures very difficult. 

Fishing Spring Creek

We wasted no time on our first day on Spring Creek. Here the Chief Water Splasher begins working towards her Chief Angler title. This part of Spring Creek is fished a lot, but it is a good place for a beginner to start casting.
We launched from a location very near Mertzon, Texas. If you want our GPS coordinates please contact us. 

The Trip West Begins

Here are the First Paddler, Chief Water Splasher and I as we head from Austin to West Texas to Spring Creek and the South Concho river. That is 1 canoe, two kayaks, 2 bicycles and all the gear in the back...

Trip to West Texas, Spring Update, San Marcos

Unfortunately, a gaggle of Springtime work and a flu has kept us off the water for the last several months. It is very disappointing to miss a Spring of canoeing.

But, relief is in store. Today, the Chief Water Splasher, First Paddler and I depart for West Texas to locate one of our favorite rivers, Spring Creek. Photos will follow here.

Also, the Rio Vista dam in San Marcos, Texas (just down the road), has been reopened to canoers, kayakers and tubers. Here's a link to today's Austin American Statesman about the dam.

Watch for updates next week.

Returning to the Lake

We are at last back for the Spring season of paddling...

This morning the Chief Water Splasher and I went out on a paddle on Lake Austin. This was a special time for each of us as the First Paddler was off on other business.

This particular part of Lake Austin isn't thick with fishermen, but I always see someone fishing. And, I never see anyone pulling out the fish. We weren't fishing this morning, darn the luck, but I did see two of the largest ( 2 ft) catfish I have ever seen in the lake.

We ate some of the best oatmeal and drank some of the best milk for breakfast. And, I read from Arnold Lobel's Fables a passage entitled "The Crocodile in the Bedroom."

It ends with this message: Without a doubt there is such a thing as too much order.

Labor Day Paddle

The Editor, First Paddler and I went out early this morning, Labor Day, for a paddle on Lake Austin. Spectacular weather...

The boys made up a game of "kayak tag" and chased each other around the lake. And, of course, there was a little "kayak rodeo", as seen on the left here.

In our usual effort to leave the lake cleaner than we found it, we removed a large kids plastic picnic table. With the boys in kayaks and I in the canoe, there was plenty of room to stow it in the cane to get it back.

After we dropped the Editor off at his house, the First Paddler said, "I wish he was my brother." That made it all worthwhile.

The poem I read to them today was To Labor by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Seemed appropriate to honor labor today.

Photographing Kayaks

There are those among us here at the NCJ who always say about my photos, "This would have been a great picture if you had gotten the face." Well, that's the case most of the time. But, sometimes I try to capture what the paddlers might be seeing. Here the First Paddler and the Editor are pondering whether to go into a dark cove.

I especilly like this photo because of the brilliant green of the tree. Behind me is a spectacular rising sun over the lake.

From the Editor: Kayak Tag

Today me and Robert invented a new game! its called Kayak Tag.
ct

The First Paddler and the Chief Angler Get Together

This morning the First Paddler, Chief Angler and I went out on Lake Austin. The Chief Angler had never paddled a kayak before, so I gave him a quick lesson and he was out paddling in no time.

We only (!) have two kayaks, so I followed them in the canoe. Could be another reason to buy more kayaks next summer...

There's nothing like watching two boys bond around some boats. They were swimming together in the lake by the end of our trip...looking for any excuse to get wet and laugh.

This marks the end of the summer. All of the original members of the National Canoe Journal, Chief H., the Editor, Chief Angler and the First Paddler, have all been out kayaking. This has been a good, good summer.

To a Friend
By Amy Lowell
I ask but one thing of you, only one,
That always you will be my dream of you;
That never shall I wake to find untrue
All this I have believed and rested on,
Forever vanished, like a vision gone
Out into the night. Alas, how few
There are who strike in us a chord we knew
Existed, but so seldom heard its tone
We tremble at the half-forgotten sound.
The world is full of rude awakenings
And heaven-born castles shattered to the ground,
Yet still our human longing vainly clings
To a belief in beauty through all wrongs.
O stay your hand, and leave my heart its songs!

The Chief Angler Fishes Again

The Chief Angler gets his name because during our first canoe trip he went nuts over the fishing rod. This boy is part fish.

I made sure and had the gear ready on this trip...

Kayak Rodeo

Here the First Paddler and Chief Angler are engaged in some kayak rodeo today on Lake Austin.

Our Green River Utah Trip

If you are visiting us to read up on our Green River Utah rafting trip, just scroll down a bit to June 24, 2005. If any of the pictures along the way interest you, just click on them to see a larger version.
Thank you for enjoying our journal. If you would like to email us, click this link.
Geo N.

Bringing July to a Close - Canoeing with Chief H.

At the crack of dawn this morning the Computer Expert (now known as Chief H., on the left), the First Paddler (on the right) and I launched from our usual spot on Lake Austin. It's been over a year since Chief H. has been with us, so this one was a long time in coming.

We were all got a jump when we spotted a huge coon on the banks. She was big and healthy. She moved too quick to get a picture, though.

I served the boys their favorite NCJ breakfast - scrambled eggs, bacon and toast with homemade National Canoe Journal Wild Mustang Grape Jelly. There's nothing like floating up the Colorado with kids eating their favorite breakfast..

The morning reading was Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken. Here are some of the best lines in all of literature:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that made all the difference.

I don't know if Frost ever canoed or kayaked. If he had, he would certainly have understood the excitement of going down an unexplored cove. The above photo is on the banks of one of favorite coves, off the lake. I never tire of paddling down it as I know the other boats can't get nearly as far in as our canoe.

Another NCJ tradition is that we always leave the lake cleaner than we found it. We have a habit of looking for trash in the water or along the banks and picking it up. This morning we picked up a pesky glass bottle and a swimming "noodle" that someone had let float down the lake. Those "noodles" are great fun in a swimming pool, but in the lake they are eyesores and must take years to biodegrade.

After we returned from our paddle, I gave Chief H. his first kayaking lesson. He picked it up in a snap!

Message from the First Paddler

we saw a rocon . kayaking was fun.
rmn

A Message from Chief Corbin

Today I went kiacing for the first time.And I allso saw a racconon the bank of the lake.I had lots of fun today.cjh

Today's Jelly Label

NATIONALCANOEJOURNAL.COM
WILD MUSTANG GRAPE JELLY

Handpicked by The Editor, First and Second Paddlers &The Chief Water Splasher

Canned by the Chief CannerApproved: Chief Heinchon
July 2005

Just the Two of Us

The Chief Water Splasher is now wanting time just with Dad in the canoe. So, we paddled out this morning and enjoyed some time to ourselves.

Here she is sifting through the sand...

Our morning reading was a few pages of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Sometimes I post the audio of our readings on the homepage, so you might find it there.

We left the lake a bit earlier than planned because a thunderstorm rolled through. It was July 4 two years ago at this very location that the Director, the First Paddler, the Chief Water Splasher and I got caught in a major down pour / lightning storm, and I will not be repeating that scene again!

Here the Chief Water Splasher enjoys some of Dad's special Canoe Waffles. We were anchored along the banks of Lake Austin this morning.