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Indiana Day Trip

Joined
Mar 28, 2014
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Location
Northwest Indiana
Hello to all,

I took my new canoe, a Navarro Legacy that I have named "Serenity Now", out for her first trip on a section of the Kankakee River near the Indiana/Illinois state line. While I stayed off the "90 mile ditch" that the Kankakee has become, I spent time in some of the original winding channels located in the LaSalle FWA. This area has a rich history, and as I paddled along the waterways I could see how difficult it had to be living here and why it was used as a "hideout" by so many. This being my first time in a canoe in 30 years, I found I was thankful I chose the Navarro Legacy, a 13 foot recreational canoe that is just beautiful to look at and paddle. It's wide width offered me the stability I was looking for as I learn how to canoe trip.

I started out against the current and wind. The going was slow, but I was in no hurry and I took in the sounds of the birds singing as I learned my paddle strokes. I took my Sawyer beavertail paddle with my BB Special as a backup and I think I could use a shorter length. I seemed to do much better paddling from my left side. Probably due to old injuries. While I bought a seat back with my canoe, I chose to go without for now to see what I will be missing when I use it. I carried a dry bag with a change of clothes and some water (working on my kit).

I had a great time, did some unwinding from some very tough times and learned to paddle until I notice some storm clouds approaching. A fisherman offered to help me load the canoe back onto the car and it is just so easy to take the canoe out. I'm glad I bought it!

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Picture of one of the original channels of the Kankakee river.
 
Sophie looks comfortable in your canoe. I like your canoe, very beautiful and looks well made. I checked out the Navarro website and also read some reviews over at PNett, haha, (I'm a Pneter now?), people like them. I had a 13'6" canoe for a long time and really enjoyed it, great for getting around in tight spots.
 
Thank you for visiting my thread Robin. I drove over to Rock Island, IL to pick up the canoe and the folks at Navarro were just great. I'll be retiring relatively soon and will be spending much time up North, but for now my adventures start down here. :)
 
pblanc: I definitely want to hit the Sugar Creek. That is Turkey Run, no? Probably best to wait for school to start up again before going there.

Thank you yellowcanoe! I took a trip a little further south and paddled J.C. Murphy lake at Willow Slough FWA. Picture is from yesterday at my rest stop. There was a 10 mph wind that I learned to handle. I switched to my BB Special bent shaft paddle and found it to be very good on water with no current. I took Sophie today and she did well, though the heat was a bit much for her comfort. We put in 4 miles and she rode well but I have no good pics of it. I think she will like it up north. I am up to 14.5 total miles paddled. :)
 
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Slippery Pete

Hey I love your dog! My Jake is a 15 month old Vizla. I put a pic of him in American trips reports last week. They are great dogs, looks like your Sophie certainly is enjoying the canoe. I am a Hoosier transplant, I have lived in Northern Indiana - grew up there, still have Kin from North Central Indiana.

Good luck with you dog and canoeing. I loved your pics.

Bob.
 
Hello,

Thanks for visiting my old thread. It brought back great memories to read it again and hopefully I'll take a trip tomorrow for an update. My Navarro canoe is a Legacy. I chose it for the wide beam as it is designed for dogs and wildlife photography, one of my favorite extinct hobbies. Yes, the dog will stay home when I take the photo gear!

Bob, Jake is just a great looking dog! He reminds me of a younger Sophie before her injury, surgery and weight gain.

I cannot say enough about Navarro. Great canoes and people there. I am not affiliated with them in any way, other than a very happy owner and friend. I plan to buy another.

You can learn more about them here:

http://www.navarrocanoe.com/?gclid=CLXOj7_urL4CFVR5MgodmxAAvg

or on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/NavarroCanoes

Cary
 
Hey Cary,

Do you plan to trip with your dog Sophie? If so, do you trip in Indiana or do you travel elsewhere? I used to have friends that would paddle wild cat creek , as well as the Wabash. I hope Spring has sprung and you are getting some good paddling time.

Cheers,

Bob.
 
Hello Bob,

Sorry to take so long to reply, I work some brutal hours that keep me very busy (and out of my canoe). I only get out to a couple spots so far, usually avoiding rivers. Top of my Indiana to-do list is Chain O Lakes State Park. I'll write about it when I finally get to go. I've only driven over the Wabash River. I get 'the willies' just looking at it. :)

Cary
 
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Was finally able to take a ride with Sophie on a wonderful day. We went out and back to my favorite picnic spot and I also found a great sandbar where Sophie could stretch her legs. I forgot a couple items that will go on my checklists, so it was a good start to my 2016 paddling season. Saw many ducks, geese, coots, grebes and many terns. For some reason they seemed to be everywhere. No eagles, possibly in the distance though. Oh, first day of retirement is September first!

Cary
 
She looks happy. Congratulations on your upcoming retirement, trust me, canoes and retirement go well together.:D
 
Thanks Robin! I moved the date up to Aug 1. :)Cary

YOU WON'T REGRET IT!
If I could turn back the clock of time, I would retire 3 or maybe even 4 years earlier. Since I took the plunge, I have decided that WORK is a dirty 4 letter word.

I used to laugh at the old guys that would come back to visit and after talking about how busy they were in retirement would say, "...I don't know how I ever found time to go to work!" Now I'm that guy:D:D:D

Jon
 
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Hi Slippery Pete
Love your pictures and your dog looks like a gentle soul. I just bought my first canoe last week and finally managed to get it wet twice over the past week. I am looking forward to building memories but I might have a hard time persuading the cat to come along.
I am very lucky to live along the Trent Severn waterway up here in Ontario. Sometimes I take it for granted but I am truly rich to be able to say "I live here". I mostly want to canoe in the bush through some of our parks and crown land. I am planning trips of about 3 nights weather permitting. I want to have enjoyable experiences rather than trials and tribulations.
Good luck and happy future memories.
 

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Thanks for visiting!

Glad to hear that Grandpa Paddler, I am really looking forward to it!

Congrats on your great canoe John. You are very lucky. It is an hour drive for me to canoe and a looong way for any wilderness. On another note, there were two young guys that paddled the Mississippi River to bring awareness to one of their father's medical condition (I believe). They stopped at Navarro Canoe in the Quad Cities area (I think you can find a link to read about them there on their Facebook feed if you need). Well, they were passing by a bluff on the river when a kitten jumped in and swam to their canoe. They adopted it and it rode down the river with them on their trip. I thought that was pretty neat.

Thanks again! Another day off for me, but too windy.

Cary
 
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