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Thomas 13 days ago
Find Beauty in Your Own Backyard Originally uploaded by Thomas Jones Here in Okmulgee, the leaves have almost all fallen and the geese are flying over everyday. My guess is that a taste of winter weather is right around the corner. I'm sad to say that my day job and other distractions have prevented me from getting out and enjoying the Fall color and higher river levels much. Just sneaking in a bit of sunset paddling after work is pretty tough with sunsets coming in at 5:30pm. I did manage to get some reading in. I read Canoeing With the Cree by Eric Sevareid. This is the first actual book I have read, purely for pleasure, in years. My day job requires a great deal of reading, so I normally try to be more active in my off-time. Of course, I didn't make the big leap all the way into reading an actual work of fiction. The story of Eric Sevareid and his friend Walter Port paddling through the great northern wilderness, way back in the 1930's, was inspiring, exciting and ...Thomas 24 days ago
Dianne on the Elk River in Missouri Originally uploaded by FreeWine I saw a 17 and a half foot Folbot Kayak for sale cheap on the Tulsa version of Craig's List today. With room for 2-3 paddlers onboard it sounds like quite a bargain at less than $400. Lots of folks willb be putting their kayaks on sale now that summer is over. Time to start kayak shopping! I got a chance to paddle my good friend, Greg's 15 foot Dagger Edisto touring kayak this Summer. It is a real deal Sea Kayak with a rudder and everything. You squeeze into this boat like an extremely intimate pair of shorts. The cockpit is so small, I think I could have used a rubberband for a spray skirt! Where my recreational kayak has sturdy foot pegs to transfer the power of my paddling stroke to moving the boat, the touring kayak has pedals attached to the rudder via rope or something. I do not like paddling with a rudder. Touring kayaks don't really suit me for paddling in Oklahoma. The extra length in the water ...Thomas 45 days ago
The recent week of showers in Oklahoma have opened up the Fall canoeing season. Water levels are up on rivers and creeks throughout the Ozarks. Our local Okmulgee Lake is running strong over the spillway. Head down Highway 56 west of Okmulgee and you can see our local part-time waterfall from the highway just west of the park entrance. This is the classic backdrop location for an Okmulgee family photo. If you happen to be paddling Okmulgee Lake...better not get too close to the Dam. That way lies MANY trees you will not enjoy paddling into. Al and the Oklahoma Flatwater Paddlers have a Buffalo River trip planned. The Kiamichi River is up again after a long dry summer for Tom & the Gang at Kriver.com. I would love to get a weekend free to head down to Antlers, OK and paddle the Kiamichi and the Buffalo River is breathtaking in any season. BTW, did you catch the recent PBS special on the Buffalo National River? It was called The Buffalo Flows - The Story of ...Thomas 56 days ago
Thomas 60 days ago
Our first visit to The Mulberry River in Ozark, Arkansas this weekend was a blast! Just a couple hours down I-40, the Mulberry River offers a fun ride with constant current and loads of fairly easy rapids. In fact, the Mulberry offers about 40 miles of great canoe & kayaking water. This river is rainfall driven, so you must plan your trip carefully. Too much water makes it very dangerous and too little water means dragging your kayak through the shallows. Visit the Turner Bend website for a daily updated gauge of the current river level. They will even sell you a detailed river map and canoe guide with all of the named rapids listed. Since Dianne and I arrived at Turner Bend late in the afternoon, we took the short four mile float trip from the public access at Redding Campground in The Ozark National Forest down to the Turner Bend take-out at the Highway 23 bridge. The Mulberry River level was at 2.05 feet according to the Turner Bend gauge. The river level was perfect ...
