Each year the Door County Sea Kayak Symposium (DCSKS) takes place during the second weekend of July at Rowley’s Bay near the northern end of Wisconsin’s Door County. In the 2015 edition, 170 kayakers with skills ranging from novice to advanced took part in classes and trips led by 38 […]
Category: summer
Paddling La Crosse
La Crosse, Wisconsin is a beautiful anomaly. Bordered by magnificent bluffs along the Mississippi River in the unglaciated “driftless” region, the valley cut by erosion was spared the leveling effect of the last Ice Age that flattened the surrounding countryside. If you have never driven across the Mississippi River, or […]
Running the Wolf
I’ve been learning how to be a whitewater kayaker for four years so you’d think I’d be better at it by now. But when it comes to playboating tricks I still can’t loop, cartwheel or blunt. I attribute my poky learning curve to my advanced years; that’s my ego-protection rationale […]
Photo Bombing the PGA in a Kayak
This past Saturday I caught some of the PGA Championship golf tournament on TV; not because I’m a fan of golf on TV, because I’m not, but because it was being held along the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan not that far from where we live. The thing that caught […]
Hot Paddle Across the Bay
Mary and I paddled across Green Bay today. Our total distance was about 19 miles. 9.76 miles from the east side of Green Bay to Suamico in 2 hours and 30 minutes with a brief rest stop in the shadow of the Green Bay Harbor Entrance Lighthouse. After lunch at […]
Kayaking is a Great Equalizer
When some people hear the word “kayaking” they think about daredevils plunging over humungous waterfalls or three-week expeditions in the Aleutian Islands. In reality, kayaking is what you make of it. You can go for a leisurely paddle in a small lake or you can take on “big” water, and […]
Perfect Day for a Perfect Paddle
Back in March I looked at my calendar and realized our summer weekends were quickly being booked for various types of events. I knew I wanted to host another “Paddle Across the Bay” so I chose June 27 for a paddle across Death’s Door. As luck would have it, yesterday […]
Northern Lights June 22, 2015
Last night we had a spectacular display of Northern Lights over the bay. They weren’t as bright as the St. Patrick’s Day display but these were huge and were rapidly dancing and shimmering. Around 11 p.m. I experimented by using the “night lapse” setting on my GoPro Hero4 camera. I […]
Plum Island Open for Business
Today Mary and I paddled the Death’s Door crossing from the northernmost mainland of Wisconsin’s Door County to Plum Island. There we viewed restoration work on the Plum Island lifesaving station, which began operations April 1, 1896, serving the Portes des Morts Passage (more commonly called “Death’s Door”) at the […]
ASCI: Endless whitewater
What I’m about to tell you may sound a little crazy but here goes. There is a river located on a mountain. Unlike most mountain rivers, this one never reaches the valley. That’s because this river flows in a loop. I know, crazy, right? And that’s not all. The mountain […]