Adventure in your own backyard

There are so many wonderful places I want to explore, some for the first time, others for the nth time. Many of the places I want to experience, like Alaska, Bhutan, or New Zealand, require lots of advance planning and days away from work and home. Oh that I would have time to visit all of these distant, facinating places - darn that pesky day job! What is an adventurer to do? Seek adventure in your daily life, of course.

I am fortunate to live three blocks from the Mighty Mississippi River and go paddling on it every chance I get. Last week fellow AGCer Deb and I put in a canoe at the river flats by the University of Minnesota and paddled leisurely through the only gorge on the entire 1,000+ mile length of the river. We were assisted by a gentle tail wind. The river is low for this time of year, in fact, the river at the end of May was lower than it often is in mid August. We were able to see the remnants of the very first lock constructed on the river. Built in the early 1900's to enable boats to bypass the rapids on that part of the river and make Minneapolis more accessible by river, it was decommissioned only a few years later when another lock and dam was constructed downstream. That lock still exists and we "locked through" on our trip.

We saw Great Blue Herons that day and it is common to see Bald Eagles soaring overhead or sitting in a snag. The trees still had that fresh spring green color even though they were fully leafed out. Last fall I paddled this same stretch of river at the height of fall colors - it was stunning. Each time I am on the river I marvel at how I can literally be in the middle of a major metropolitan area (the river is the border between St. Paul and Minneapolis), yet feel like I am far beyond any city limits. And each time I paddle the river, I see something different and learn something new. I'm looking forward to my next outing.

Where do you find adventure close to home? Happy exploring. Shelley