August 2, 2010

August 2, 2010

Our commute was pretty short today. We stayed at the campground of a river outfitter last night. After waking we walked up to the shop and rented a kayak to paddle down a thirteen-mile section of the St Croix National Scenic Riverway. We were driven up river where we embarked on our water adventure. Almost the whole way this river was devoid of any civilization. Also because of recent rains the water was high and the current moving along. We ran into small whitewater quite often. Although the shoreline was mostly forest we did have one small section of sandstone cliff. We also saw two bald eagles in the trees. After three and a half hours of paddling we put out of the river and called for our pickup.

The St Croix and its tributary the Namekagon were designated a National Scenic Riverway to maintain their wildness and halt the construction of a dam and power plant. After our excursion we drove to St Croix Falls to see the Visitor Center for the park.

This river system was used by Voyageurs in their transit from Lake Superior to the Mississippi. We were following in the footsteps or paddles of these explorers since most of this river has not changed in the last 1000 years.