Wausau

Fun day at Wausau! Everyone is getting ready for the Midwest Championships and the competition just keeps getting better every year! I worked today on loops...it's getting closer! I also made it my job today to get trashed in the hole as much as I could...I did a good job at it! More fun! Just a note about next weeks Saturday release. If you go a day early you can catch R.E.O. Speedwagon at the Marathon County Fair Friday night. One more note,
I had my best combat roll yet. I rolled up only to bounce off a rock that flipped me again and also knocked my paddle out of one of my hands. I went over the next little ledge and regained my paddle set up and came up. By then I was under the bridge below the RR hole. It even surprised me how long I was able to hang out under water!

Shane's Second Day

Shane and I went to Douglas Point to do some flatwater work in our whitewater kayaks. I had taken Shane to Taylors Falls a week ago and he like it. I let him use my creek boat for his first time out. This time I gave him my ZG. We worked on rolling, bracing, paddle strokes and some stern squirts. I'm happy to say he's got great balance! We just need more work on rolling. He has a natural inclination to playboat. BTW when I say I gave him my ZG...I meant it's all his now! All we need is some rain on the Verm and he'll be surfing with the rest of us! Shane and I went on to play frisbee golf in River Falls. It was the first time I've played it and I really liked it! Then we went on to see Batman...great movie!! All in all I we had a great Mother and Son day!

Shane learning the high brace.

Thought of the day

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. . .Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. . . Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."
- Helen Keller, deafblind American author, activist and lecturer

Wausau Junior Olympics

These last two days I spent in Wausau for the Junior Olympics. I must confess my motive was selfish...open water to play...but the reality was a very rewarding time. I did get all the hole time I could handle plus I got to see the future of kayaking. These young people are amazing! From watching the graceful slalom racing to throwing it down in the hole these kids rocked. Phonics Monkeys, McNasty's and huge air loops were common place. After competion was done for the day the kids played. Several swam the course with boogieboards and bodysurfing. It was like having a group of otters playing down the river with you. Lots of fun! I did have all the hole time I could handle and I played it alot. Since loop was the trick of the week to learn I was trying a few...it's kind of getting there. Dan, the rescue swimmer and I figured out how he could loop with his boogieboard. He did great!

Sturgeon Falls!

Happy Independence Day! I was fortunate to be able to make another trip to Sturgeon Falls this year. It was 30,000cfs BIGGER than when I went on Memorial Day and it was awesome. I didn't realize the difference until I dropped onto Triple S and looked down from the foam pile trying to decide if I wanted to go in that or not. Chamelion was just a green wave...a big fun speed bump on your way to Triple S. The wash out behind the island was challenging to say the least. If you caught it right you had friendly huge whirlpools to express your way back to the island. If you went too far it got kind of ugly. That was huge water! I went up with Burgess and Scotty and joined other Minnesotans, Jack, Mike and Melissa, Jeremiah, Missy and Tina. We met Canadiens that had traveled from Calgary and Edmonton the first day there. After meeting them I have a real desire to travel more of Canada. Sturgeon is so beautiful and even though there were annoying jet skis infringing on nature, nature still rules. We met some of the Winnipeg locals also. Very good people for sure! Burgess and Scotty were rocking Surfers and Triple S. Scotty caught several good surfs on Big Mouth throwing blunts and making it look easy. The easiest way back to camp was to just ferry out above and drop down thru the meat of it all. Taking the green tounge into the waves between Big Mouth and Surfers. That was something to drop into! I chose NOT to catch Big Mouth but Burgess and Scotty did! Wow...maybe next year for me. I feel Blessed to be able to make this trip two times with great friends this year! I guess I can say I am satisfied with long distance traveling for now and am content to stay to the home waters for a bit. I'm thinking this fall there may just be one or two long trips scheduled. We'll have to see how things work out.




Our neighbor...a bear trap!