Filed under What I’d Rather Be Doing Today.
- Missouri River near Mid Canon, MT
- Aug 2019
Remembering this unique swimming hole…
With all of my trips canceled this year, my summer has revolved around paddling trips down the Lower Salt River. While it’s been incredibly disappointing that we haven’t been able to travel, I’ve appreciated the time I’ve had on the river—20 trips so far, averaging one paddle every six days.
I’m looking forward to another moonlight paddle tonight.
While the pandemic has canceled nearly all of our travel plans, staying home this summer has had one noticeable benefit: I get to kayak the Lower Salt River much more than normal. Yesterday marked my 16th paddle down the river since late May.
My new ebook on Kayaking the Salt River is now available on Amazon.
And it’s FREE until Aug 1.
If you’ve ever thought to yourself, I wish I had been on the river when seeing one of my kayaking photos, well…here’s your chance to learn how to do it.
Ratings and reviews are greatly appreciated!
While all my summer travel plans have been affected by our inept response to the pandemic, one of the few bright spots has been being able to paddle more. It’s been my primary outdoor activity this summer.
Many of you know I’m publishing a guidebook on Kayaking the Salt River. What you may not know is that it’s part of a much bigger conservation pilot project I’m launching. But I’ll some help to pull it off. More details on that in the next few days.
Wandered around Watson Lake today, the first time I’ve arrived without a kayak. While the Granite Dells will also hold a special place in my heart, so will paddling this lake.
Last night, we camped along the Mogollon Rim. It was our first night away since—I kid you not—the middle of January! Much needed, and much deserved.
We were treated to this sunset, “enhanced” a bit by a wildfire sparked in the afternoon between here and home. Since the highway is closed, we’ll take the opportunity to explore the long way ‘round.
With the combination of dad stuff and COVID, I totally missed any wildflower trips this year. But that doesn’t mean I can’t reflect on some of the amazing blooms we got to experience last year.
One of my favorite things is water in the desert—and specifically, saguaros near water. With the coronavirus still raging on, in spite of our desires to reopen, I see a lot of local kayaking in my future this summer. So I’m choosing to look at the bright side of things. And that means many more opportunities to see an army of saguaros cresting a ridge and sneaking down to the lake or river for a quick sip.
I’m looking forward to another early morning paddle down the Salt River tomorrow, hoping to capture another morning meal.
This was the scene early yesterday morning, several hours before our kayaks would pull ashore at this very spot. Quiet, serene, inviting.
I arrived early, spent several reflective minutes here being grateful for the fun trips I’ve taken down this river, and then headed back to parking lot to prep for the day’s paddle and to meet two friends who I’d soon be introducing to the river.
After getting my gear in order for the vehicle shuttle, I returned to the shoreline with a trash bag and a grabber tool to rid the area of careless trash. These places require our constant stewardship and love—not our selfish entitlement that ruins the experience for everyone else.
I miss swimming with this guy in December.
The last travel I’ve done was a weekend camping trip to Mojave National Preserve a decade ago—aka January 2020. The day after I returned was when my dad’s health crisis started, occupying most of my time until the start of quarantine life. Like many, I’m just dying for a weekend away. Can’t wait until it’s appropriate to travel again.
Some color from yesterday’s off-trail meander in Sonoran Desert National Monument.
This month’s theme over at the new Go Questing Community (send me a message for an invite!) is focused not on the big epic quests that take you a decade to complete, but on the small local quests that help you explore more of your own local community. Local quests are great ways to finally get around to visiting those nearby places you’ve always intended to go, but haven’t quite found the time yet. And they often include places you never even knew existed! And because they’re close by, you can make progress on your quest within the confines of your everyday schedule—no vacation time needed. It’s a great way to use the structure of a quest to inspire a bit more adventure and exploration in your life.
Pictured above is Tovrea Castle—aka the Wedding Cake Castle—a landmark here in Phoenix that took me more than a decade to visit. It was one of those “I should tour that someday” places that you drive past constantly but never quite make it to. But once I adopted a quest to visit the Phoenix “Points of Pride” I finally found the motivation to make it happen. It’s a great example of how a local quest can enrich your life, even when you’re not traveling far from home.
What local quest would you adopt? Tell me in the comments.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Community of questers I’m building, send me a message and I’ll give you the low down.
