Kayaking!

Yesterday I went kayaking on the Oconomowoc River.

It was so exhilarating, so peaceful, so unlike the things I normally do. It was an awesome day...

I had set up the outing a few weeks earlier and I was really looking forward to it. Wednesday is Dave's day off - he's been working almost 60 hours per week lately - so I was excited to spend some time with him, too. We got up and got ready, hit the grocery store for some lunch, and were off to meet Scott Gerharz, the guy who owns and runs Marsh-N-Stream Kayak Outings.

The plan was to meet him at the Good Hope Rd. and Hwy. 45 Park and Ride at 10:30 a.m. and then we'd head to the river together. We made it to Good Hope Rd. off of Hwy. 43 a little before 10:30 and only then did I realize we were to meet him at Hwy. 45, not 43. So I panicked and like a moron got back on the freeway instead of just traveling down Good Hope Rd. to Hwy. 45. Seriously, my ditziness amazes me sometimes. I called my mom and had her find Scott's phone number online and I called him to say we'd be late.

A good start to the day.

We were about 20 minutes late but Scott was very gracious about it. Introductions were made and we hopped into his car with him and were on our way. Normally, customers will just follow him in their car, but since it was only two of us - and since gas prices are so high! - we all rode together.

I liked Scott right away. He's a City of Milwaukee firefighter who is married with two daughters. He's been kayaking for eight years and started his company last year. He is incredibly personable and very passionate about kayaking and the outdoors. He said his business started a bit slow last year but has really picked up this season.

His company, the only one like it in the Milwaukee area, has been featured in numerous publications recently, including 'M' Magazine and the Shepherd Express. (Another online article about him is found here.)

He spoke of his customers and said they range from little kids to families to middle-aged and older couples. He said his oldest customer was an 84-year-old woman who took her 55-year-old son out as a surprise and that she just had a great time! I said I hope that old lady is me someday!

The drive to the Oconomowoc River took about 25 minutes. Just before we got to the launching spot, Scott drove us through the property of a local man who makes sculptures out of scraps of metal and other materials and then sells them. He invites people to drive around his property and view his work, so that's what we did.

When Scott was describing it, I pictured junk in my head but these sculptures were fantastic! There were animals and people and suns and moons and lots of other designs, too. They lined the different pathways and loomed over us as we drove through. It was really a fun thing to see.

We reached the launching spot and Scott unloaded the kayaks. The weather was absolutely perfect – the sun was shining and there was a small breeze, and it wasn't too hot. (It's pouring rain as I write this - so we definitely picked a good day to go!)

In the distance was Holy Hill, a place I'd heard of but never seen. The huge church sits high above the surrounding area and is the tallest point in Southeastern Wisconsin. It looked almost like a castle in the distance and it was beautiful. (The picture of it here is from Scott's website - his is better than the one I took.)

We put our lunch and cameras and water bottles into the boats' compartments and put gloves on our hands so we wouldn't get blisters while paddling. Once we were all settled into our kayaks we were off.

Scott was in a sea kayak (blue), a very narrow kayak that's meant to go fast and will tip easier than other kayaks. I was in another kayak (orange) that was a bit wider but still pretty fast, and Dave was in a wide recreational kayak (yellow) that's meant to be slower and very sturdy. Most of Scott's kayaks – he owns seven, six singles and one tandem – are the wider recreational kind, but he brought the faster one along for us and I liked it. Dave trailed behind us a lot of the time in his slower kayak and I said I'd take that one on the way back. (I'm laughing as I recap this) – later I found out it was just him, not the kayak.

Anyway, the marsh was beautiful. It was so quiet out there – a quiet that cannot be found in the city or anywhere near it. We could hear birds and the breeze and the lapping of our paddles through the water. Scott pointed out different birds and trees and turtles and bugs – he knows a lot about nature. He pointed out the Ice Age Trail which borders the marsh in some areas. I definitely want to hike on it in the future.

There were lily pads everywhere and really pretty water lilies floating near them. With the lily pads, though, came bees, which I am rather scared of. I'm not allergic or anything, I just HATE bees. I freaked out a bit when we had to paddle through them and they flew near our boats, but I calmed down – a little – when I realized that they weren't interested in stinging us. I was very relieved to get through the day without any bee stings.



We saw three deer on a bridge up ahead of us and they were so pretty – it was a mother and two fawns. They ran away before we got too close. We saw several cranes standing in the water that would fly to nearby trees when we paddled by, and the occasional fish jumped and splashed around us, too.

When we saw another bridge in the distance, Scott paddled ahead with my camera so he could take some pictures of us in our kayaks. On the bridge he met two women who were on a walk with their dog, Duke. Duke was adorable and so excited as he ran across the bridge chasing butterflies and then down into the water, swimming across from one side of the marsh to the other.



It took us about two hours to paddle to the gorgeous and very secluded Loew Lake. The whole time we'd been rowing in 1-3 feet of water, but it got much deeper as soon as we hit the lake.

We docked our kayaks on the grass and ate lunch on a picnic table near the shore. I felt like we were the only people in the world out there. Dave and I ended up eating cheese sandwiches because we accidentally forgot the turkey in a different bag in the car. Oops.



We got back into the kayaks – me in the yellow one now and Dave in the orange one – the boys with their now-empty bladders and me with my still-full one. (Ah, the perils of being a woman.)  We paddled to the middle of the lake and Scott was ready for a swim. I had worn my bikini under my shorts and shirt, but I knew if I dumped my kayak I'd never be able to get back in.

Scott fell out and demonstrated how to get back in all on your own - he said it take lots of practice! He put something around one end of his paddle that inflated so that he could use the paddle as leverage to get back into the boat. It took him a couple tries but he got back into the narrow kayak and I was impressed.



He then demonstrated an assisted rescue with Dave as his helper. He fell out again and this time, Dave came up next to him and pulled Scott's kayak onto his lap and dumped the water out, and Scott used Dave's kayak as leverage to get back in. Scott said he's still working on perfecting the Eskimo roll – where the kayak flips upside down and then right side up again with the person in it the whole time. He said your head has to be the last thing that comes out of the water so that you don't tip – and it can be pretty scary to be underwater like that!

We were on the water for four hours so I guess it took us almost two hours to paddle back to the launch, but the time certainly went faster on the way back. Dave was in the faster kayak this time, but he had a hard time controlling it and I passed him up a lot. Needless to say, I had some good laughs yesterday watching him paddle. Not that he was bad at it or anything – I was just better. =)

He was a good sport, though, as he always is. (These pictures make me laugh.)



I tried to paddle pretty strongly at times to get a bit of a workout and I definitely felt it in my shoulders and abs. At other times I simply lifted the paddle and glided a bit, enjoying the sun and the silence. Scott said that the length and speed of the outing depends completely on the customer. You can paddle fast or you can paddle slow, and he's happy either way.

He said he can talk and talk about birds and trees and wildlife – or his life or yours or whatever else, but he can also "take a hint" and be quiet. It all depends on the group he's with.

We reached the launch and got out of our kayaks and I couldn't believe we'd been gone for over four hours. The time went so fast! We helped Scott get the kayaks back onto the trailer and got back into the car. I made a comment about the beauty of Holy Hill, so he offered to take us up there to have a closer look.

It took about ten minutes to get there. We parked and headed to the huge church to climb up the tower. We climbed the 178 steps to the top – it was pretty tiring after all we'd already done! The wind that came through the open windows of the tower was divine, and the view got better and better as we made our way up. At the top the view was breathtaking. We could see for miles – we could even see downtown Milwaukee in the distance, some 30 miles away.



After a few minutes we made our descent. We walked around a bit more, seeing one of the beautiful Stations of the Cross that go through the area. I'm so glad that Scott took us up there.

We drove the half hour back to the Park and Ride and said a big thank you and good-bye to Scott. He was a wonderful guide and such a cool guy. I said we'd perhaps be back sometime to row through downtown Milwaukee with him. Along with the nature outings that he does, he also offers a kayak outing down the Milwaukee River through the downtown area. He has different stories and historical facts to tell along the way and it sounds like it'd be really neat. His season goes through the end of October, and kayaking through those nature areas when the surrounding trees are blazing orange and yellow must be really amazing, too.

While we were rowing I said to Scott, "this is something everyone should try." I'm a firm believer in trying everything once. Then you can discover a few things that really appeal to you and try them again and again. Kayaking is really fun – and very safe – and pretty much anyone can do it. You can go at your own pace and you can see parts of the state and parts of nature that you wouldn't see otherwise. It's definitely something I could really get into. Who knows, maybe I'll buy a kayak of my own one day.

I think it's so cool that there's so much that we never know about so close to where we live. Had I not gone on this outing, I wouldn't have known about these rivers or lakes, or the different trails and parks, or seen Holy Hill or the unique sculptures on that guy's property. There's so much world out there - and so much in our very own backyard! - that we can explore.

Dave and I got home and we were beat. I had worn sunscreen on my legs and face so they were fine, but my shoulders were pretty burnt. Dave didn’t wear any sunscreen ("I need some color!") so his legs were lobster legs. My shoulders were a bit sore from paddling but I was just tired mostly from being out in the sun all day.

We showered and walked down to the North Star American Bistro on Oakland Avenue in Shorewood for dinner. We shared crab cakes and then he had a (delicious) cheeseburger and I had (ok) seafood risotto. The place was really cute and the food was pretty good – but our server was not. Good service is hard to come by, and being a server myself, I just don't understand why. It takes a certain kind of person, but come on, it's not rocket science. Oh well.

We walked home and got in the car and drove down to Cold Stone Creamery for some desert. It was really yummy, but as always I had big eyes and couldn't finish what I ordered. As we sat there, the people just kept streaming in. Cold Stone's ice cream is so delicious but with the mounds of cake/chocolate sauce/candy bars/peanut butter/etc. that they put in their sundaes, it's a rather gluttonous place to frequent. Once in awhile is ok though!

We got home by 9:00 and were in bed by 9:30. I think that's the earliest I've been to bed in about 10 years! I was just exhausted, but it was a good feeling to have spent the day in the outdoors, getting some exercise and trying something new.

It was an incredibly fun day.

Comments

[karl]

hey, you can rent kayaks at the Urban Ecology Center for like $25/day and take them up and down the Milwaukee River if you want to do it again.

[Derek]

Sounds like a great day! Thanks for sharing this. I think the soon-to-be wife and I will have to try this as well! I would really like to go down the Milwaukee River.

[Amanda]

I just wanted to throw in my usual good word about Dave - I'm so glad that you have such a good sport to go on all these adventures with you! Sounds like you guys had a great day of it.

[Dave]

Better kayaker?!?! I don't think so. I'm pretty sure Erin overloaded my kayak on one side thus making it pull to the left. Its not my fault she passed me up numerous times.

[heather]

that sounds like the best time. of course eric and i love the outdoors and love to try new things. we have always wanted to kayake. Eric looks to buy one everytime we shop. thanks for the great info, erin. i can't believe that was your first time at holy hill!!! it is so beautiful in fall!!!

[Karen]

Sounds like a great day. Hello, Michele sent me!

[Jennie]

Sounds like you had an amazing time! I went kayaking one time in western Wisconsin a few years back and have been eager to do it again. I knew you could rent them and go down the river, but I had no idea there were tours like this. I will have to look into that for a future outing! Thanks for the info!

[Erin]

awwe! that sounds like a great day!
thanks for stopping by my spot...i like your name! ;)

the metal 'sculptures' really were very pretty!!! and the scenery was gorgeous! i'm glad you had fun!

[Andrea.]

Great pictures and sounds like a very fun time :)

Have a great weekend! I'm here via Michele's Meet and Greet :)

[Julie]

Hi Erin!

I am here from Michele's place! Wow! What beautiful pictures these are. Now, of course, I will be spending time going through some of your other adventures! :0)
~Julie

[warcrygirl]

Hi Erin! I'm here from Michele's. Sounds like you had a great day; I went kayaking once at 6th grade camp and kept tipping over. Not fun. Have a happy weekend!

[Nicole]

Hey Erin! Sounds like you had a blast on your latest adventure! I love kayaking, but unfortunately cant get out much. I'll have to check out the link and see about a downtown adventure sometime!

[Cindy]

This sounds like an amazing opportunity! I had no idea this kind of thing was available, much less downtown.
Looking forward to reading about your next adventure!

[Utenzi]

That is one Hell of a post, Erin. Great pictures and story. I sure love kayaking. :-)

[rich]

Thanks for writing up your experience! I'm going to link to this report from my kayaking/paddling website where I list Marsh-N-Stream -I'm sure others will find your report quite useful!