Paddle Paddle Paddle

Today was the 28th annual canoe trip down the Saint Croix River. We put in at Taylors Falls and took out at William O'Brien State Park. The weather, wow, the weather has never been better than today. The sky was blue with white puffy clouds and the wind didn't push us the wrong way this time. The humidity was low. The seven of us had a great day on the river. I wore a wide brimmed hat, a sun shirt and yoga pants that went down to mid calf so my only sunburn is on my chin and the tops of my hands. Despite the 1.9 inches of rain that fell on my house last night the river wasn't flooded. The sand island was visible by the petroglyphs. The canoes and kayaks were flying out of the rental office. We had three canoes and I had my little kayak. The Taylors Falls paddle boat snuck up on us.I moved to get out of the way and the paddleboat followed me so I cut back to the side I came from. We waved at the people on the paddleboat. Many people were enjoying the day on the water. We saw bald eagles, turkey vultures, great blue heron, goldfinches and swallows flying. We saw two guys on paddle boards fishing while standing. That has to take some coordination to stand up and paddle and fish at the same time. We stopped for lunch at the Osceola landing. Coincidentally all seven us of packed peanut butter sandwiches. We decided to go on to William O'Brien. The traffic on the river lightened up past Osceola. Sometimes pontoon boats, fishing boats or bass boats went by. I enjoy a gentle rocking now and then. We saw osprey on the nest at the train bridge. Sometimes we went to the Minnesota side of islands and other times we went to the Wisconsin side of islands. I saw one sandy island ahead and thought I would stick to the Minnesota side. Big mistake. I got stuck in the shallow water. I wasn't the only one to get stuck. I had to get out to pull my kayak. In the process of getting out I sat down in the river soaking my pants and the sleeves of my shirt. Wow, that was refreshing. I had to wear wet pants the rest of the trip but that was okay. I was sad to see the state park signs ahead because I knew that meant we had only one mile left of our trip. I was lagging behind the others by this point. I didn't care. I enjoy my time on the water. I watched people walking on the path in the state park who didn't know I was watching them. Eventually I came to the end of this river journey. I paddled to the boat landing and got out with the help of a nephew. I ditched my kayak in the weeds to pick up later. I walked to the restroom. Walking back from the restroom a two year old boy said to me, "Hello Grandma!" I said hello back and asked how he knew I was a Grandma. His mother explained that his Grandma has the same hat as I did and she was going to tell the real Grandma about this encounter. After waiting only a short while a van came to pick us up. Some family members helped load the canoes on the trailer. Ironically there wasn't room for them on this van. I rode the van to the Osceola landing where I got on a bus back to my car. Once in my car I drove back toward my kayak, waving at all the shuttle buses and vans in case my family members were aboard. I saw my kayak was still there so I stopped to pick it up. I started dragging it through the grass to my car but a strange man offered help so we carried it to my yellow car. I loaded the kayak and headed home through Marine On The Saint Croix, Centerville, Lino Lakes, Blaine, and Anoka. Today was a good day!