Groundhog Day

Last Saturday Debi & I had a pottery day for Debi's birthday weekend. We took a nice leisurely drive in the country on our way to a couple of pottery sales. We enjoyed each other's company, but more importantly the peace & quiet that only a parent, sans kids, can fully appreciate (Aunt Penny & Uncle Mark kept the girls for the day).

We met Corine Guseman & Hal Dedmond at Cottonfest. They invited us to their pottery sale on the 22nd. They were also firing their groundhog kiln that day. They are way the heck out in the middle of nowhere, but we were especially interested in seeing a groundhog kiln in action for the first time. We arrived in time for "blast off.” It was very cool. Well, not the kiln, it got up to almost 2200 degrees. Debi picked out a casserole dish made by Corine as a birthday present to herself.

We met Ron Philbeck at the Circle of Eight sale a couple weeks ago. He was having a pottery sale on the same day as Corine & Hal. He’s in Shelby, but it still seems like the middle of nowhere to a city boy like me. I wonder how he gets any business out there. He gave us a tour of his shop and his kiln. It was very interesting. Seeing his work, I realized that I have one of Ron’s mugs that my sister gave me as a gift a couple of years ago. After visiting for awhile I picked out a nice big pot to use as a utensil holder as a birthday present for me.

We’ve been doing pottery stuff for the past couple of weekends. I would have been happy to do more pottery stuff this weekend (like the Muddy Fun day at Clayworks or the arts festival at Brattonsville), but my sister had a plan that we would go canoeing/kayaking on the Catawba River. And for those who know my sister, once she has a plan, nothing can deter her. Not even a drought.


It was Penny, Mark, Melissa, Jason, Taylor, Val, Steve, Debi, Isabel and me. We left Amelia & Chloe behind with Nana. So we set out (only a little late & only a little lost) for the place near the dam where we were to meet the outfitters and put into the river.

Finally we found them and after much conversation, signing of waivers, studying of maps, and low-grade chaos we were ready to get underway; some of us in canoes, some in kayaks.

I was ready to get the show on the road, so I grabbed one end of the canoe and the outfitter guy grabbed the other end to haul it down to end of the ramp. He told me to take my end in first, which I did, because he’s the expert, right? So we put the canoe in the water; Isabel gets in, then Debi and then me.

I’m sure there are conflicting opinions about the cause of what happened next. Here’s my opinion of the contributing factors and what we learned from them:

1. With Isabel in the front, Debi in the middle, and me in the back, the weight was obviously not evenly distributed. We were just sort of caught up in the moment and assuming someone with more experience with such things would direct us to the proper position in the canoe. That didn’t happen. What we learned: when canoeing with a small child, the child should go in the middle.
   
   
2. Penny had put her bags of food and dry clothes in our canoe. The bags were under Debi’s feet so she was leaning forward to try to collect the bags to stow them somewhere out of the way just as the guy shoved us off the boat ramp into the water. What we learned: (a) make sure to stow your stuff (or your sister’s stuff) securely in your canoe before attempting to put into the water, (b) don’t put your dry clothes in a canvas bag in a canoe. They might get wet, (c) make sure all occupants of the canoe are all set and ready and aware they are about to be shoved into the water before doing so.
   


3. Remember that the guy told me to take my end of the canoe in first? I specifically remember, because to do so required turning a pretty long canoe around 180 degrees on a small boat ramp which was pretty crowded at the time. Well, some time & distance down the river we discovered that the canoe was backwards. I think this is an important point, at least in this case because it caused our canoe to be even more unbalanced. What we learned: there is a front and back to a canoe.

So, what happened next was that roughly 5 seconds after the outfitter guy shoved us into the water, the canoe flipped over. Did I mention that I had a bad feeling about this canoe trip?

Boy, I wish we had gone to Brattonsville or Clayworks instead.

Well, it was pretty funny for those standing on the dock. After I made sure that my child did not drown I thought it was pretty funny too. Isabel was actually fine with the whole thing. It was just one big adventure for her.

A brief summary of the rest of the trip:

• The water was WAY low so we all got stuck on rocks several times and had to get out and push in water that was sometimes no more than ankle deep.
  
  
• About halfway down our little piece of the river Debi, Isabel and I got stuck on the rocks in some mini-rapids and the canoe filled with water. Lucky for us Jason was close by to help us right the canoe and dump the water. Thanks Jason. Again, Isabel had not drowned and was having a blast… “Let’s get wet again Daddy!”
  
  
• A short time later, although we had more or less gotten the hang of the canoe, we were pretty much over it so we swapped boats with Penny & Melissa. We took the tandem kayak, they took the canoe.
  
  
• Not long after swapping, Penny & Melissa got stuck on some rocks and flipped the canoe. Debi and I were not far behind so we came to their rescue. Eventually Mark & Jason joined us on the riverbank and again there was swapping of people & boats.
  
  
• Later, we encountered some intoxicated Deliverance looking bubbas who were hanging out on a rock in the middle of the river underneath the railroad tracks with a dog, a boy and two large coolers (with no boat in sight). They were yelling something at us (or to us?) but we all pretended we didn’t hear them and just kept going (cue banjo).
  
  
• Debi and I were bringing up the rear (apparently there was some race to the finish line that everyone but us was aware of) when we got stuck on some rocks in another mini-rapids. In the process of trying to dislodge the kayak from the rocks, the water was rushing over the boat and eventually filled it. A tandem kayak filled with water is very heavy. It’s especially difficult to haul one to the riverbank when you’re in rapids. At least Isabel was in the canoe with Penny & Mark, so we didn’t have to worry about saving her in addition to ourselves, the canoe and the various items that were floating down the river. After MUCH effort, we were able to get the kayak to the riverbank but it was so heavy we couldn’t even turn it over. Along came Steve to give us a hand. It took all 3 of us to flip it. I guess the others were thinking it had been nice knowing us. Thanks Big Guy.
  
  
• At last we made it to the end. The outfitters picked us up to return to our cars. When asked his favorite part of the experience, Taylor replied “getting in the car and leaving.” I’d have to say, I agree.
  
  
• Oh, one last thing – inexplicably none of us thought to wear sunscreen, so we all got a little sunburned. Somehow it seems that I got the worst of it. Of course I did.

For the record, I would like to state that I am not a total novice on the water. I have been white water rafting many times, I have been kayaking a few times and I have even been on canoe a couple of times (of the three vessels, the canoe is now my least favorite). Also for the record, I would like to say that I did have a bad feeling about the excursion.

A couple of times during the trip when the water was deep enough that we could just drift along and enjoy the scenery I found myself wondering what it must have been like hundreds of years ago when Catawba Indians made their way down this same river. Then I realized that they would have had better sense than to try to canoe down a river where the water was only ankle deep.

In the end, no one died, the weather was beautiful, it was nice scenery and I got to spend the day with people I love so it turned out being an OK day.

Next weekend I think we’ll go to a pottery sale or a festival or perhaps just spend a quiet day at home.

Click here for a view all of the pictures from the day. Yes, in spite of nearly drowning 3 times, I had the presence of mind to snap a few photos.