If you called the office on Friday, you’ll know we didn’t answer. It was a vacation day for Countryside staff.
Giddy with excitement, 20 of us hit the water to canoe in 93-degree weather 7 miles on the St. Croix River, from Taylors Falls, Minnesota to the Osceola shuttle pick-up site. It was a beautiful sunny day and with the “breeze” we didn’t feel the heat—the only problem we had was that breeze! If we stopped paddling for more than a few seconds, we were pushed back up the river we just struggled to get down! (One tourist recommendation said you could make the trip riding the current alone—not that day!) There were even a few white caps, which means it’s really windy on a Wisconsin/Minnesota border river.
It took some upper body strength and a lot of team effort to try to prevent canoes from going in circles or zig-zagging across the river (which happened even to the best paddlers). The water wasn’t much more than 2 feet deep most of the way and a few other groups along the route decided it was easier just to get out and push!
It took about 3-3/4 hours for the last canoe to pull up to the landing. We were told it would take 3-4 hours, so I guess we made pretty good time considering the wind.
The scenery was beautiful though. Bald eagles were soaring overhead, as much of this portion of the river makes good nesting habitat, lined with rugged bluffs. In fact, some adventurous (crazy?!) guys were honing their rock-climbing skills along one of the higher cliffs.
We certainly worked up a healthy appetite, which was satiated by a fine meal on the Taylors Falls Princess, an 80-foot paddle-wheel boat. Amazingly, this vessel can hold 250 people and floats in only 17 inches of water! The captain seemed rather amused when we got grounded in a shallow section and he had to ask everyone on the upper deck to move forward to lighten the load until we got into deeper water. Naturally, we hit bottom after dinner.
To read more about The Taylors Falls Scenic Boat History, visit: www.wildmountain.com/boat/boat_history.html.
Laura and her husband, Alan, head out.
Husband Dennis paddles while our daughters (right) struggle against the wind.
These crazy dudes were brushing up on their rock-climbing skills. (You’ll never catch me hanging from a cliff by a rope!)
(L-R): Kate, Elaine, Kelly, and Ellen (with the tan) enjoy the shade at the landing.
After 3-1/2 hours in a canoe, nobody wants to sit down!
Waiting for dinner: Dave, Gary, Brian (Sam’s husband), Sam, Joyce (Gary’s wife) and Ann (far right) rehash the day’s events.
The Taylors Falls Queen is a replica of our Princess dinner cruise boat.
At the end of the day it was relaxing to let someone else paddle. Left to right: Laura, Kelly, Jodi, Alan, and Kate enjoy the beautiful scenery.
