How does that old saying go?…When life gives you lemons make lemonade? When walking makes your achilles tendons swell up and yell at you, start paddling instead. Yesterday we developed a plan B, officially called Operation Lemonade. To give my heels some time to recover from rubbing shoes or whatever the heck is aggravating them, over the next week Ryan and I will canoe down the James River from our current location of Buchanan.
We will paddle through the gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Glasgow, through Lynchburg (with many portages) and likely re-assess around Scottsville in the Piedmont. I am happy to report that Operation Lemonade has been squeezed out beautifully so far! With the help of Ryan’s extremely helpful and well-geared family, a canoe and other necessary paddling accoutrements were gathered up then picked up by Pat Calvert (Upper James Riverkeeper) this morning for our previously planned paddle trip with him today. HUGE help! Then with the help of John and Dan at Twin Rivers Outfitters (canoevirginia.net), the three of us were shuttled up to Eagle Rock to paddle down the swift waters of the James River back here to Buchanan.
It was a great day to be on the water and hear about Pat’s role as a Riverkeeper with the James River Association. Pat's position is a unique one, as his goal is to serve as the "eyes, ears, and voice" of the James River. He gets out on the water to, in a sense, patrol the waterways for dumping, fish kills, egregious erosion problems and other activities that need attention or correction. He also gets plenty of indoor time (probably more than he likes) going to meetings to develop policies that make it it harder for people to pollute, or programs that help others become personally involved in safeguarding the river. For example, the James River Association's River Rats are interested citizens who help Pat do his job. They check on their section of main stem river or tributary at least three times a year to report any signs of problems, in addition to taking on a restoration project of their own making. For those of you in the James River watershed who like the idea of helping to keep an eye on the river, take a look at JRA's website at www.jrava.org! In the meantime, Ryan and I will let you know what we find out there on the river over the next few days.
Laurel
We will paddle through the gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Glasgow, through Lynchburg (with many portages) and likely re-assess around Scottsville in the Piedmont. I am happy to report that Operation Lemonade has been squeezed out beautifully so far! With the help of Ryan’s extremely helpful and well-geared family, a canoe and other necessary paddling accoutrements were gathered up then picked up by Pat Calvert (Upper James Riverkeeper) this morning for our previously planned paddle trip with him today. HUGE help! Then with the help of John and Dan at Twin Rivers Outfitters (canoevirginia.net), the three of us were shuttled up to Eagle Rock to paddle down the swift waters of the James River back here to Buchanan.
It was a great day to be on the water and hear about Pat’s role as a Riverkeeper with the James River Association. Pat's position is a unique one, as his goal is to serve as the "eyes, ears, and voice" of the James River. He gets out on the water to, in a sense, patrol the waterways for dumping, fish kills, egregious erosion problems and other activities that need attention or correction. He also gets plenty of indoor time (probably more than he likes) going to meetings to develop policies that make it it harder for people to pollute, or programs that help others become personally involved in safeguarding the river. For example, the James River Association's River Rats are interested citizens who help Pat do his job. They check on their section of main stem river or tributary at least three times a year to report any signs of problems, in addition to taking on a restoration project of their own making. For those of you in the James River watershed who like the idea of helping to keep an eye on the river, take a look at JRA's website at www.jrava.org! In the meantime, Ryan and I will let you know what we find out there on the river over the next few days.
Laurel
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| John of Twin River Outfitters giving us a shuttle while chatting about river issues with Pat Calvert the Upper James River Keeper |
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| Putting in at Eagle Rock Boat Launch |
Hello Laurel, these are terrific images and looks like a fun trip. I'm working on a boating application for Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and wanted to see if you would be open to letting use use one of your canoeing photos for the home page? Please let me know: awoodard70@yahoo.com
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