Homeschoolers' Intro to Canoeing - 7/27/11

On July 27, 2011 OWLS provided 35 different homeschooled kids and parents the opportunity to try their hand at canoeing on the Bull Sluice Lake section of the Chattahoochee River. The weather was hot but a nice sandy beach on an island just up from the launch site provided a good target for everyone's upstream effort and a great spot to take a break and go swimming. We had quite a few small kids in the group which gave us another chance to put to use the wonderful new Youth PFD's we received from MTI last month. Although almost everyone said this was their first time paddling a canoe, they apparently paid good attention to my brief instructions, as we only had one pair of paddlers actually turn over all day (and they might have done it just to cool off). Everyone said they wanted to do this again sometime and many told me they felt up to going on one of our longer paddling adventures for a weekend or longer.
Here, following, are a few photos from this most enjoyable day:


The Roswell Fire Department even brought their new 6-person hovercraft which they proudly explained "allows them to travel through the shoals." Maybe they should have been learning to paddle and read the water with us.

Good thing little sister wasn't paddling too hard; at least not in this position.

The epitome of "Another Happy Paddler."

And they are off! It's a race to the island.

Three's a crowd? No! Three is just more fun.

Lots of new friends to be found this day.

There's a big grin hidden there somewhere.

Paddling was "wonderful" for this first time canoeist.

Stern concentration as the geese look on.

Another 3 HP canoe!

Summer 2011 Wednesday River Cleanups

Just part of the river cleaning flotilla

When not busy with other activities on this summer's Wednesday evenings, I and some other volunteers have done what we could to keep our local river, the Chattahoochee, running free and clean. These Wednesday cleanups were the brainchild of Chuck Armentrout, President of Urban Currents. They provide fellowship among paddlers of all skill levels, a great opportunity for paddlers to learn and improve their paddling skills, and are a great way to show the care and respect shown the rivers by the paddling community. When we first started gathering to clean various spots along the Chattahoochee, there were usually only a handful of people joining in. This has grown to the point that we now see 25-35 people every Wednesday, paddling a wide variety of kayaks, canoes, Sit-On-Tops, and even inflatables. Thanks go to master paddler and master photographer Rick Thompson for sharing these photos of us from one of the cleanup events. Thanks Rick and definitely thanks Chuck. SYOTR!

One cleanup area we hit was Whitewater Creek.

Time was taken for skills training and general paddling practice.

On this particular day I paddled a whitewater canoe.

Vine City's Etowah Trip Through Dawson Forest

Read and enjoy the photos below as you learn about a really neat adventure relocated at the last minute due to the extreme drought conditions in South Georgia where we had originally hoped to go canoe-camping. I hope you will enjoy sharing our trip.


Off to a good start


Smooth paddling through Dawson Forest WMA

Paddling Class I rapids

"Running" (or walking) rapids at low water

Cooling off in the waterfall near our campsite

More playing in the waterfall

June ended and July began with a great bunch of guys from Atlanta's Vine City community, led by their mentor, Drew Henley, from Trinity Anglican Church, getting to know each other and the Living Water much better as they paddled and swam the Etowah River in Dawson County. In addition to canoeing, hiking and camping by a waterfall, building a campfire, and enjoying a number of rope swings, this adventure also included the added surprises of an opportunity for the young men to try their hand at riding a horse and seeing a baby fawn by the riverside.

Some wanted to trade their canoe for a horse.

What did the owner mean, "not broken yet?"

As with most of our OWLS Adventures which involve new participants, I explained the reason we took these trips and what it was hoped everyone took away from them. The first chapter of Romans, of course, teaches us that we are all without excuse when it comes to knowing God and His attributes as they have been revealed to us since creation through everything that has been created. This truth is followed up by Ephesians 2:10 which reminds us that, as Christians, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." The kids initially expressed some lack of understanding when it came to figuring out how their time on the river would related to these ideas. I found myself thoroughly reassured at camp that evening however when, as I stretched out in my tent, I heard them showing immediate promise and deep understanding of "Experiential Evangelism" as they sat around our fire discussing the purposes and features of a life jacket and all the parallels between that and God's plan of salvation. It was almost like hearing a step-by-step iteration of the Four Spiritual Laws. I'm sure Bill Bright himself would have been quite pleased to hear them speak these spiritual truths so clearly.


Proudly wearing his PFD

#1.) Time on, in, and beside the river is meant to be abundantly rewarding and full of enjoyment. Likewise, God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives.

#2.) Often the river becomes too dangerous or intense for us to enjoy. Likewise, most people are unaware of God's love and plan for them or don't experience it because they are separated from Him by sin.

#3.) The PFD (life jacket) helps prevent us from drowning in the dangerous water, protects us from hard falls, and lets us travel the river knowing we will arrive safely at our destination. Likewise, Christ is God's only provision for the sin that otherwise separates us from Him and His wonderful plan for us. Jesus gives us the ability to withstand the attacks of Satan and gives us the assurance that we will live forever with Him in Heaven.

#4.) We took lots of PFD's with us on the trip, more than enough to go around. What the guys pointed out to each other was that all the life jackets in the world wouldn't do any good for someone that didn't actually put it on. In the same way, it doesn't matter that there is more than enough of Jesus's love and forgiveness to go around. It matters not that your mother, sister, or brother know the Lord. Living in a "Christian country" won't restore that relationship with God. No, everyone has to make their own personal decision to trust in Jesus to forgive them of their sin and lead them in the way they should go.

Stretching our legs at the rope swing

A fine leap at the "Rope Swing Campsite"

Wet entry!


A new fawn spotted just before our take-out.

Sure hope you can join us on our next OWLS Adventure!