Sunday, we scheduled
a Family Day.
Matt was home for the
holiday. Becky’s birthday is later in
the week. With full family attendance,
we decided to spend the day doing something fun and less routine and together. Therefore, we all opted to leave the farm
proper, to save us from luring ourselves into a waiting chore, and go canoeing.
Actually, the kids,
adult kids nonetheless, decided. So, we
loaded up two canoes into the back of the pick-up, gathered up the necessary paraphernalia
(paddles, lifejackets, towels, sunscreen, boating shoes) and took off for our
destination, the Maury River.
unloading the canoes at the put-in |
Matt and Becky seized
the newer, shorter canoe. Glenn and I got
stuck with his near antique aluminum Grumman which is much longer and literally
grabs rocks located near the surface of the river causing the canoe to stop
forward progress and/or pivot in the current. The newer canoe model, an Old
Town with ABS hull and also outdated as canoes go, just glides over these exposed
interferences and continues without pause.
The river was
low. There were many rocks above the
surface or just inches below. And, our
canoe kept grabbing those troublesome rocks in every little rapid we encountered.
Fortunately, despite
the equipment challenge, the day was a perfect Family Day.
We all had fun
paddling the peaceful, flowing river from the Rockbridge Baths put-in to our
take-out at Copper Road. The day was
comfortable, quiet and bugless. The
water, a bit cool, was enticing enough for the kids to take swims from time to
time. I personally waded to my waist and
then could not walk back the few feet to shore because the rocks lining the river
bottom were slimy and slick causing me to slide further down into a deep hole
along the shore. I was near taking an
unplanned swim when Glenn came to my rescue before I fell in and helped pull me
up to the solid and dry shore.
The river is totally
tree-lined and private except for a few weekend homes which all seemed to be
vacant (odd for a holiday weekend) during our travel.
The wildlife was
sparse. We did manage to see a few
waterfowl like one Canadian goose, three ducks and a couple of soaring osprey
along with a few fish and a deer.
The sun was just the
right temperature, air movement still.
The canoe trip was my
idea of success. If I do not flip over
in the canoe, the trip is always considered a success in my mind.
take-out at Copper Road |
We ended the day with
dinner at a local restaurant. No dirty
dishes for me…
another check in the
success column.
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