Canoe or Kayak?

Ah choices!  Shall I take a canoe or a kayak on my paddling trip?  Well that depends on if you like Coke or Pepsi, drive a car or a truck, listen to pop or classics…  well you get the idea.  It mostly comes down to personal preference, but knowing the differences can help you have a more enjoyable time out on the river.

The oldest boat known to still be in existence is a canoe from about 10,000 years ago.  Kayaks didn’t come along for at least another several thousand years.  So if “experience” is an important qualification to you, well then stop reading and pick the canoe!

Living on the edge: A geological primer of Hocking Hills

Rock Bridge, Hocking Hills

The Hocking Hills region is a stunning anomaly.  Chockablock full of magnificent gorges and waterfalls, outlandish cliff sides, rock formations, and rare plants and animals that would require a hundred miles of travel just to find another one like it.  You see, the Hocking Hills region is unique because it always seems to find itself perched right on the edge.


The actual rock itself, is a type of sandstone, made up of different particles that were once floating along in rivers and streams.  As those rivers and streams entered a shallow sea, they slowed down, and the particles began to settle to the bottom.   Back then the Hocking Hills area had more of a coastal feel to it, right on the edge of a large body of water.  To be fair, this was a while back.  In fact we’re talking before dinosaurs!  Over time, that sediment compressed and developed in layers of rock several hundred feet thick. 

How shopping is like canoeing: a primer on steering a canoe

I have never lost my joy of hopping on the back of a shopping cart and riding it through the parking lot on the way to the car.  I personally think I would medal, should shopping cart riding ever become an Olympic sport.  I find there is a certain finesse to it, as the further away from the centerline I push off from the more the cart veers off course, and so it’s about slight adjustments in my pushing foot to the left and right to stay the course.  Now my favorite are the downward sloping parking lots, where pushing is not required.  In these circumstances I find applying slight downward pressure with my foot on top of one wheel or the other is a very effective way to steer, once I have momentum.  If fact, with a good tailwind and a solid stomp, I can get the cart to spin all the way around!  The judges would love me.