Last weekend I went canoeing with my neighbors. It was very spontaneous. They invited me that afternoon and we were underway in an hour or so. We had 3 kayakers and 4 of us in two canoes on Pigeon Creek.

It started out cool. I saw some crawfish on the bank right next to the access ramp.

We made it to the first obstacle, a big tree blocking half the stream. However I ended up getting pinned behind it. I tried to push myself sideways, out from behind the log, but got dumped in the water.

Thankfully, I had on a life jacket. I hadn’t been in the water for years, so it was a big surprise. I did ok and didn’t drown. First, I moved over to the bank so that my feet could touch the bed of the river.

The rest of the trip my jeans were soaked, but the water wasn’t too cold and the weather was warm.

We made it to the last bridge before Mongo, climbed out and waited for the vehicle at the drop-off site to rejoin us.

All in all, it was pretty fun. I was getting pretty tired and a little cranky by the time we got out of the water. I fell down twice trying to get up the path where we stopped. I didn’t get any injuries although I fell pretty hard the second time.

I did a lot better than I expected and it’s definitely an adventure to remember.