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| Spring 2009 |
A Quiet Note from Quietwater |
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Quietwater Paddling Notes
Greetings!
Another winter is slowly and stubbornly receding. Which of course means one thing - Canoecopia. This year's version is March 13-15, 2009 - once again at the Alliant Center in Madison. We will be there. If you have not yet attended, it is a fun, feel-good, day trip if you are in WI. You can make a weekend of it and spend time in Madison as well if you are coming from further away. It is big, busy, family-friendly, and full of happy people - all looking at a wide range of paddling-centric outdoor recreation gear and anxiously waiting for open water!
For some people, spring comes a bit earlier than it does at Canoecopia. This month's pleasant places writer, Thomas Jones, is from Oklahoma. In addition to kayaking, Thomas and his wife also love road trips and wine tasting. His article, as you might guess, combines all three - a road trip to kayaking water combined with some stops along the way to taste a bit of the grape. All in Oklahoma, yet one more spot where great places exist if you stop and look for them!
New Year's Day (1/1/2009) saw me driving south all the way to Mobile, Alabama, where I met up with Jimbo Meador and began another project with him and Native Watercraft, fishing and paddling the upper Gulf Coast. We managed to kayak in some pretty neat spots, fish with some world class guides, and exercise some great kayaks. All in short sleeves in January. |
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Pleasant Places to Paddle
Like Wisconsin, Oklahoma is a flyover state. Texas gets all the glory and Oklahoma gets the jet trails. Just like Wisconsin. In Oklahoma, there are some incredibly beautiful spots that are easy to access and rarely attract visitors. Check out the author's Flickrstream for more pictures of these pleasant places. These are the creeks, rivers, and lakes in Oklahoma that Thomas Jones and his wife make a habit of visiting in their...
Oklahoma Road Trips.... read more.... |
Quietwater Goes South Pedaling After Redfish
A cold afternoon in January found me driving, going through my mental checklist, and thinking about my soon to be southernmost experience to date. The goal was Mobile, Alabama, but first I had to make it down Hwy. 51 through the heart of Illinois. I ended up making it through Illinois as well as Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and finally Alabama. Highway 51 has a history very similar to Route 66, except you hear very little about it. Hwy. 51 starts in northernmost Wisconsin and beelines straight south all the way to New Orleans. It's not a freeway. It is a great way to see a vanishing and tranquil small town America. But that's another story.
This story is about going south in the winter, pedaling, paddling, and poling some Native Watercraft kayaks and chasing redfish from Alabama all the way to Mexico. read more... |
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 About the Top Image
The top image is a simple shot of the Louisiana Marsh. If you close your eyes and listen to the wind it is like being out in the middle of the Great Plains. It is a "sea of grass". Quite beautiful in its own way. This particular piece of the marsh is just about impossible to get to with a human-powered boats, which is part of what makes it so special.
Quietwater Films DVDs
Paddling boats of just about any shape or form is near and dear to us. We think it's a great way to spend time outdoors with family, friends, or by yourself, soaking up what nature has to offer.
We have also observed that, like most other things in life, there is a learning curve to paddling and boating. Our goal with the movies/DVDs we're making is to offer up bits of knowledge and pleasure that we hope will lead more people into paddling enjoyment. Here is our website where you can read more about the DVDs we have made and watch some video clips taken from the DVDs as well. If they look like something you want, you can also purchase them from our website. |
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| We hope that you like what you read and will pass it on to others that you think might enjoy Quietwater content! We're always happy to read an article about your own pleasant place to paddle! You can email as an attachment (doc, txt or rtf). Send along a few pictures of your spot as well. You get credit for the article and the rights to it remain yours. We will post it on the Quietwater Films website and publish it in the email newsletter. You can link to it or otherwise use it as you see fit. If needed, we will edit for spelling and grammar and send you a pre-release copy for your approval before the newsletter goes out.
Enjoy your Quiet times on the water -
Jeff Bach
Quietwater Films
Madison, WI., USA
608-432-0198
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