May 31, 2009 Our First Summer Adventure

Well it seemed like it might never get here, but we finally hooked up the camper, loaded the bikes and the kayaks and headed out for the weekend. Friday afternoon when we left about noon it was awesome. Blue skies, warm temps and what, no wind? I don't think I remember the last day with no wind. It was a great afternoon to drive north. Our destination was only a short drive away, Walkers Point, at Lake Madison. We arrived set up the camper and wasted no time in getting the kayaks out on the lake. The water was actually much warmer than I expected and it was fairly calm making for a nice paddle. We headed east, south east along the shore admiring the homes with Hillcrest Resort as our destination. It was only a short distance by car, but by kayak it was a pretty good cruise. We did not see much wildlife, only a woodchuck and a few ducks. The break we took at Hillcrest was rather short and we headed back this time heading out into the lake farther. All in all we were out about two hours and we both knew it was summer once again.The rest of the night we just relaxed, watched some TV and turned in kind of early. we wanted to be up at the crack of dawn to head to Brookings to do some bike riding. We arrived at Brookings with abit of a chill in the air still. The winds was blowing pretty well AGAIN, but the sky was blue and nothing was stopping us. We unloaded the bikes and took off on the bike path headed south. The path was great. It was pretty smooth and it winded through the trees, up small hills and down. We followed it along the interstate and then around the golf course before heading east. We were both commenting on how nice it was. What a great bike trail and then suddenly it ended. No more trail now what? Oh well we decided to just make the best of it and head down the streets of Brookings with a new gaol in mind, the world famous Nick's Hamburger Shop. As we walked into Nick's we both noticed right away that they had done some remodeling and added a whole eight new stools bringing the new total to like 15 or so. We were soon enjoying some of Nick's great burgers and some great conversation with Nick. After more that 80 years in business it seems there is no end to Nick's burgers. Now full we headed back to the truck, loaded up and began our return trip to Madison. Back at camp we fired up the grill and enjoyed some potatoes and green peppers and rib eye steak. What a great way to reward yourself at the end of a day. Then it was some Dominoes, Phase Ten and off to bed. Sunday morning began with sky, nice temps and yes wind once again. A nice breakfast of waffles and bacon got us ready to head out onto the lake in our kayaks to fight the waves. It was windy. This time we headed west into the area called "The Harbor", a very nice area with some beautiful homes. The carp were thick and the water swirled along the shoreline where they were thrashing about. It was hard paddling and at times it was like two strokes forward and drift three backwards. Just kidding, but it was work. By the time we got back we knew we had done some work. It is fun riding the big waves though. We started to kind of clean up once we got back and getting ready for Bud and Doris, Kay's parents, for you outsiders to come for lunch. The arrived, we had a nice lunch and chatted until we had to get ready to head for home. We were suppose to have a bike ride at 4PM, but it got cancelled do to impending weather. The drive home was fun, NOT! Pulling the trailer in the 35 -40 mile an hour winds was interesting to say the least. We made it though, safe and sound. The first weekend had come to an end. So whats next? Next Saturday we are headed to Vermilion, SD to join a group for a Missouri River cruise. If interested in joining us there is a link with the details: www.mnrrwatertrail.org/ The Sunday it is the Canoe and Kayak Fair at Lake Alvin starting at 11:30AM. So if you have ever wanted to try paddling come on out. Here is a link for that event: http://sdcka.blogspot.com/ Well till next week enjoy.

August 24, 2008 James River Run

Life does not get better than a day spent on the river under blue skies and sunshine. Sixteen of us took advantage of the great weather to experience the James River, many of us for the first time. After meeting at the access point just east of Mitchell and delivering some shuttle vehicles to the take out point we got under way. I was surprised and happy that their seemed to be more depth to the river than I thought there would be and was hoping it would hold out, which it did. The river was pretty slow and the wind was out of the south, south east. The water was cleaner than I had thought it might be and it was great paddling. The event was planned to take us 12 miles down stream to the take out and was predicted to take us four hours, which we hit pretty close. The banks along the way were fairly low and covered with vegetation. There were not as many trees or high banks as got to enjoy on the Big Sioux a couple of weeks ago. The only creatures I observed were a couple frogs, one turtle, a loon and a few head of cattle. I am sure that at the right time of day though, early morning or towards dusk that might just change. We paddled pretty steadily and some of us took a moment to take a break answer natures call and have a bite to eat. There were several interesting areas along the way where old bridges once stood and even one unidentified structure along the bank. I have a picture of that structure include here so if anyone knows what it is please let me know. The river was wider than I thought it would be most of the way and there was hit and miss fallen trees to circumvent. As usual the company was great and it afforded some great time to socialize and get to know some of the other people better. But as usual the fun has to come to an end sometime. We arrived at the take out a little over four hours after we departed and once everyone was out of the water we began the shuttle to get everyone back up their cars. Once loaded up Kay and I headed south to Highway 42 and then straight into Sioux Falls. It was a another great day on the water. Kay and I want to extend our thanks to everyone and a special thanks to Jarett Bies and the South Dakota Canoe Association for planning these events. Another wonderful day in South Dakota. Fresh air, exercise and wonderful company. Need I say more? Remeber if you click on pictures you can see full sized views.

August 16th, 2008 Palisades State Park

Well before I get into our time spent at Palisade's State Park I must note that we got up and rode early this morning, We chose a fairly moderate pace since we were working on 110 miles plus for the week. Now I know for some of you that's a good days ride, but for us old folks it a good week. The high lite of the week was Thursday night when we rode to Worthing, over to Lennox, up to Tea and then home. By the way next Saturday is the Tour De Corn in Mitchell, be there be square.
We decided to head up the Palisades today with the kayaks. Kay's brother, David, and his family were camping up there. It was a great day. Mild temps, very light breezes and plenty of sunshine. When we got there we had a chat with the park ranger and he gave us a couple of suggestions for paddling. We decided to head down to the lower parking area, across the old bridge and see if we couldn't head south. We the water level was a bit low and we found we could not navigate the rapids so we ended up carrying the boats around them. Once around them it opened up very nicely just about the same area as the King and Queen rock formations. Kay and headed south chatting with a couple of canoes full of people. We unfortunately had to assure them that they had just about hit the end of the trail going north. The water was nice and calm between the high cliffs and we could paddle and watch mountain climbers scale the walls of granite. So we paddled as far south as we could and then headed back up stream. Once there I let Kay's brother and his young son take my boat for their first kayaking experience. While I waited for them to return I watched some more mountain climbers and just enjoyed being outside on such a beautiful day. We finished up our limited paddling and headed back up to the camp site for some burgers before we headed home. A nice day. Paddling could have been a bit longer, but hey.

July 12, 2008 Grass Lake / Dakota Water Watch

Today was an interesting and eventful day. It was a beautiful morning with clear skies, light breezes and low humidity. What a wonderful day to paddle a kayak. And to make even more special the SDCA had offer the assistance of a group of us to collect water samples and data so they could begin to build a history on the water quality of Grass Lake, which is located just south of Humbolt, South Dakota. Once everyone had arrived at the lake, Jeanne Fromm of Dakota Water Watch gave us some background on their efforts and instructions on how to collect the data and water samples they wanted from twenty preselected locations on the lake. The mission was to test air and water temperatures, water clarity, water depth, and the collection of two samples of water from all locations. One sample for testing for bacteria and one for testing for nitrates. By the time the instruction was over and we were all assigned our two spots to collect data the weather had changed dramatically. The wind had picked up there were whitecaps forming on the lake. Well ,Kay and I were given four locations on the eastern end of that lake. This was soon to considered a good thing as the winds continued to build. Kay and I decided to work as a team and go to all four of our points together. This seemed to make the most sense since that way she could do all the recording of the data while I did the actual testing and water sample collection. It was difficult to do. We were continually paddling back to our original location after each test because of the speed of our drift. We were trying to make sure the data was as accurate as possible. I soon found it was impossible to measure the water depth with the tools they had given to us because of the conditions so I devised my own method. I used my paddle, sticking it straight down until it hit bottom, marked it and the measure the paddle itself to obtain the depth, worked great. Kay and soon had our data and samples collected and headed back to shore. As we were heading back Jeanne and the others on shore were yelling out to us. With the wind it was hard to hear them, but finally I heard her say as she pointed out into the middle of the lake that a canoe had tipped over. My wife continued into shore with the data while I headed out to see if I could be of assistance., As I paddled out to them I was lucky enough to see one of their paddles floating along and was able to grab it. Once I got to them it was obvious they were not going anywhere the way they were. Well ,here is where my thanks to the SDCA and their training day at the YMCA comes in. Having done several assisted rescues in the pool I decided it would probably work with a canoe as well as a kayak. So the first thing I did was instructing them to swim under the canoe and push it up and over. After a couple tries they were successful. I then used my pump to pump the excess water out of the boat. By this time the lady in the boat was making her way to shore, floating with the current. The next part I was not sure about. How it would work with a canoe, but I pulled up beside it, laid myself across it to stabilize it and the gentleman was able to crawl in. It worked just like it should. It was actually easier with the canoe than it had been with the kayaks in the pool. Again thanks to SDCA for the training day. When they have their next one and if you did not make the first one try to make it. I am not sure what we would have done otherwise. Something I am sure, but just what I do not know.. So once we were all back on shore Kay and I decided to call it a day, but not before offering to meet Jeanne back at the lake the next day to collect the samples that had been lost when the canoe tipped. I could not help, but wonder how everyone else was doing back on the lake on my drive home.

Fourth Of July Week, 2008

Well after some time away from the computer I have finally found time to update everyone as to what we have been up to. It has been a fun 10 days. Some good, some bad. It all started out rather badly when we headed up to Big Stone Lake on Friday, June 25th for a weekend of peddling and paddling. We drove most of the way up in light rain, but by the time we got there it had stopped. We set up camp and did manage top have enough time for a quick outing in the kayaks. The rest of the weekend was a disaster. Wind and rain were the order of the day. We spend most of the weekend watching movies. Oh well we do live in South Dakota. Then it was back to work for two days before we headed up to Oakwood State Park on Tuesday night . This was a much better trip. We got camp all set up Tuesday night and we were ready to head out early Wednesday morning for a ride to Kay's parents for breakfast. A nice 40 mile ride, unless 20 of it is against the wind. Oh well no pain not gain. When we got back we headed out so we could put on a few more miles to make it an even 50 for the morning. The rest of the day we hung out and visited. On Thursday, July 5th , Kay and I loaded up the kayaks and drove up to the north end of Oakwood Lake where we put the boats in. We headed South /Southwest looking for a channel that would takes us into the small lakes around the rode. Although we never found that entrance we did discover a wonderful island. The island was a breeding ground for Herons and other birds that call the lakes and marshes their home. It was amazing. Birds and nests full of baby birds everywhere. It was something to behold. It was a alive with the sounds of birds chattering and their wings flapping. The babies were all reaching the necks high hoping for some food. It was something I will remember fora long time. It was a nice day to paddle. Light breezes, warm sun and no one else in sight. How much more peaceful can it get. The afternoon was filled with hanging with our kids and grandson. Saturday morning Kay and I decided to head up towards Lake Poinsett. We did not realize how windy it was until we got out of the protection of the park, The winds were probably 25-35 gusting to 40. The ride north was not bad, we were cruising at about 26-27 wind at our backs. When we made the turn however to head back to our camp things changed dramatically. I don't believe I have ever ridden into a wind that at least twice threatened to bring me to a complete stop. I knew we were in trouble when the hawk flying right beside me was not going anywhere either. But with a bit if perseverance we made it. Longest 30 miles I have ever ridden. You know what they say. It's all about the exercise. Well we got plenty on this given morning. When we got back we ate abit and rested before taking the kayaks and heading for water. We wanted to give the lake a shot even in the huge waves and the wind to battle. We went back up to the north end of the lake and put in. Over the course of the stay Rory, Chase, Brett and even Landen tried their hands at paddling. everyone did a great job. Chase and I paddled the north shore just west of the swimming area, Rory and I went to bird island and Brett went out with Kay for his first try. Landen well he pretty much was happy just sitting in the boat. Here are some pics of them on their first trys at paddling. They did a great job.

Chase Landen Rory

All in all it was a great week. We had the boys home, Margo and Landen were here and we most of Kay's family home too. And of course what would the Forth of July be without some fireworks. I ried my ahnd a taking some pics of fireworks and the results were not what I expected, but the did turn out kind of funky. Not sure why or how, but this is asample of what I got. Si I hope you all had a great Forth Of July also. It is one of the best holidays of the year. And this year it was even better. It was not 100 degress with 90% humidity. It was a great time to peddle and paddle around part of South Dakota. I am sure we will do alot more kayaking at Oakwood and the surrounding lakes. There is alot more to explore. I think I could spend a week there just exploring every little outlet, cove and marsh. I would recommend it to anyone.

June 16, 2008 Beaver Lake, SD

well another Monday of work behind us Kay and I decided to try out Beaver Lake. Beaver Lake for those of you who are not familiar with it is just south of Humbolt,SD. Its a fairly good sized lake and there was just enough breeze to bring a few waves lapping over our bows as we took off from the dock and headed east. It was quiet and we were the only ones on the lake or anywhere to be seen for that matter. The water was really murky and there was a fair amount of algae. We paddle east for a fair distance before turning north across the lake. There was not sign of any wildlife to speak of. A couple ducks and one lone pelican was about it. It was a nice relaxing paddle. The warm sun was great. Once on the north side we followed the shoreline to the west . It was interesting how the smallest of land mass in the right place would turn the lake into a very smooth and tranquil place. Small oasis of calm. I wanted to head over and explore the island, but we decided to save that for another time. As we approached the dock I could see we were no longer the only ones enjoying the evening. Two young men were fishing of the dock. As I slide my boat up to the dock one nice young man asked if he could be of any assistance. I assured him I was fine, but thanked him for asking. Hard to find strangers that willing to help anymore. Well we loaded up the boats and head home. It is so nice to have time to relax and there is no better way than paddling through the water. Oh by the way didn't post Saturday , but we did get our normal 20 miles in on our bikes. Thanks to Daryl for joining us.

Grass Lake May 4, 2008

Well we finally decided to take the plunge and headed out to Grass Lake late on Sunday afternoon. After our 30 mile bike ride we decided we needed some relaxation. It was about 70 degrees, light wind out of the NW and clear. It was our first trip to the lake and we were pleasantly surprised by its quiet and secluded location. There was only a father and one small child there fishing. We unloaded and set out on the west side of the access and headed west. It was a bit choppy, but nothing to severe. We paddled for about an hour just following the shoreline and enjoying being outside in the sun. There was not as much animal and or bird activity as I assumed there would be. A few geese and ducks was about it. Next time I do want go ashore on the islands to photograph some of the nesting going on there.

After unwinding we headed back loaded up and hit the road. By the time we left we had been joined on the lake by another gentleman and his dog in their kayak. It was a great way to end a long day.

Peddle & Paddle South Dakota

Welcome to our brand new blog where we hope to share our adventures on the rivers and lakes of South Dakota as well as the bike trails and roads. I suppose the first thing to do would be to introduce myself and my wife Kay.
Born and raised in South Dakota the two of us still love it here and have no real desire to leave this area although as we get older we do dislike the winters more and more. My name is Ed and I was born in Sioux Falls, went to school here and my wife and I raised our family here. My wife Kay was born in Lake Preston, South Dakota and graduated from Augustana College. Our kids are all raised and now that we are empty nesters and we have turned our time to exploring South Dakota by bike and by kayak, thus the "Peddle & Paddle" title of this blog. Since this is really new please be patient as I finish putting our first pictures etc. on here.