Best Fall Colors are in the Midwest!

[Carol]

Starting in September, we headed out to the Rockies for a vacation. We were in the Tetons during Peak color and at Rocky Mountain National Park during their peak color.

On the way home, in early October, we saw the pretty colors in Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota on our way back to Wisconsin. We were worried that the peak colors would be over with in Wisconsin based on the rusts of the oaks we were seeing in Missouri. In Wisconsin, that part of the fall Colors comes after the maples and the birch and poplars (our version of aspens).

Luckily, we were wrong. The colors were in full swing when we got home! I took these pictures the morning after we got home in mid-October on our lake.

http://carol.trailmanorowners.com/fall.html

For those of you who believe that the Northeast has the best colors, I have to disagree. We lived in Maine for a couple of years and saw the beautiful colors in the White Mountains. There, each tree has its own color, and they can be brilliant. However, I just love all the varied colors we get here in the Midwest. The maple trees will even have multi-colors on the same leaf. Maples can be red, yellow, orange and all colors in between. The birches and poplars get to be a bright yellow-gold (like aspens do). The oak trees range in color from red, rust, orange and yellow. We had a gorgeous, extended fall this year with lots to remember when it snows and gets cold!

[RockyMtnRay]

Very nice photos Carol! Great colors and very nice reflections.

That looks like a really nice lake for canoeing as well. FYI, I'll be coming to Madison next March for Canoecopia...gonna buy a canoe or kayak (probably canoe) for next summer!

Carol, your lovely photos make me wish I still had my old Grumman canoe. Oh well, can't do everything.
Thanks for sharing those photos.

Jim

Carol,
I agree with you the midwest colors are great. We still have trees in prime colors yet. There was a wide range of colors this year especially. I love your pictures.

mamabear

[Carol]

Pictures were taken from our pier.

RockyMtnRay - I thought you never ventured east of the 100th medidian! March in WI may be rather bleak, or snowy, or if you're lucky, there will be an early Spring! If you travel in from the southwest, you will have some outstanding scenery (Hwy 151/12/18). I90 along the Mississippi near LaCrosse is great as well! The most boring route is I80 and I39 up from IL.

azroadrunner + RockyMtnRay - Our lake (Marl Lake) is the last on on a chain of lakes, the Waupaca Chain O'Lakes, so canoeing and kayaking are great lake activities here! I have an Old Town Loon 100 kayak that I got this last summer. The old Coleman Scanoe is just too much for me to handle when the wind comes up. Stan likes to use the row boat.

Our lake as well as the whole upper chain are slow no wake lakes. There are larger lakes as well where the big speed boats roam. We can hear them, like large mosquitoes, in the summer. They can't get in here though as the channel is a creek where even canoes have to be dragged through. The few boat landings only work for fishing boats, canoes and kayaks.

Carol & Stan

Canoecopia! Ahhh, a subject dear to my heart!

For those of you who don't know, Canoecopia is a huge canoeing/kayaking show run by a paddling shop named Rutabaga's (really!) in Madision, WI. This year it is 12-14 March, 2004. Get your lodging reservations early; hotels fill up every year. There is also a bicycle show and a small RV show at the same time in other buildings next to the convention center. I go every year and drool. I usually buy at least one thing (usually lots of things :-*), and this year I'm looking for a nice beaver tail paddle. There are dozens and dozens of exhibitors for equipment, outfitting, and vacations. There are also nationally recognized speakers. The weather is traditionally nasty, almost always cold and frequently with snow. It's worth it if you're a paddling nut like I am. Look for a woman with a name badge saying "CanoePam"; that's me.
www.canoecopia.com

BTW: I have no financial relationship with Canoecopia, except I always spend money!

Pam
3 canoes (Old Town Pack, Old Town Penobscot 17, Mad River Explorer)
1 kayak (Folbot Greenland II)
1 Bass Buddy (this one even has a motor : )

[RockyMtnRay]

[quote author=Carol link=board=18;threadid=1521;start=msg10749#msg1074 9 date=1068573689]
Pictures were taken from our pier.

RockyMtnRay - I thought you never ventured east of the 100th medidian! March in WI may be rather bleak, or snowy, or if you're lucky, there will be an early Spring! If you travel in from the southwest, you will have some outstanding scenery (Hwy 151/12/18). I90 along the Mississippi near LaCrosse is great as well! The most boring route is I80 and I39 up from IL.

azroadrunner + RockyMtnRay - Our lake (Marl Lake) is the last on on a chain of lakes, the Waupaca Chain O'Lakes, so canoeing and kayaking are great lake activities here! I have an Old Town Loon 100 kayak that I got this last summer. The old Coleman Scanoe is just too much for me to handle when the wind comes up. Stan likes to use the row boat.

Our lake as well as the whole upper chain are slow no wake lakes. There are larger lakes as well where the big speed boats roam. We can hear them, like large mosquitoes, in the summer. They can't get in here though as the channel is a creek where even canoes have to be dragged through. The few boat landings only work for fishing boats, canoes and kayaks.

Carol & Stan
[/quote]

LOL!! Well, w/ regard to the 100th Meridian rule, sometimes exceptions **have** to be made. Probably important to note that this is a shopping/buying expedition, not a camping trip and, as you note, Madison is not likely to be overly warm in mid March. I'll bring my heavier clothing and probably will be grumbling about the damp, clammy conditions and how it's all grey, there are no mountains, etc., etc.

I sorta, kinda do envy your readily available and ideal for canoeing midwest lakes...but, except for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, I'm not nearly envious enough to journey there and put up with the heat, humidity, and mosquitos!

Colorado does have a fair number of smallish lakes (often storage reservoirs for the cities) but few are interconnected or have much in the way of lakeside infrastructure. And many require a bit of hiking just to get to the lakeshore from the nearest parking. Hence, I'm currently leaning toward a folding canoe (PakCanoe)...the major reason I'm coming to Canoecopia is the maker, PakBoats, is going to be an exhibitor next year and I want to see these boats first hand before buying.

[RockyMtnRay]

[quote author=K and P Camping link=board=18;threadid=1521;start=msg10750#msg1075 0 date=1068578145]
Canoecopia! Ahhh, a subject dear to my heart!

For those of you who don't know, Canoecopia is a huge canoeing/kayaking show run by a paddling shop named Rutabaga's (really!) in Madision, WI. This year it is 12-14 March, 2004. Get your lodging reservations early; hotels fill up every year. There is also a bicycle show and a small RV show at the same time in other buildings next to the convention center. I go every year and drool. I usually buy at least one thing (usually lots of things :-*), and this year I'm looking for a nice beaver tail paddle. There are dozens and dozens of exhibitors for equipment, outfitting, and vacations. There are also nationally recognized speakers. The weather is traditionally nasty, almost always cold and frequently with snow. It's worth it if you're a paddling nut like I am. Look for a woman with a name badge saying "CanoePam"; that's me.
www.canoecopia.com

BTW: I have no financial relationship with Canoecopia, except I always spend money!

Pam
3 canoes (Old Town Pack, Old Town Penobscot 17, Mad River Explorer)
1 kayak (Folbot Greenland II)
1 Bass Buddy (this one even has a motor : )
[/quote]

Dang, Pam, that's quite a flotilla you have there!

BTW, how do you like your Folbot? That's a brand that's on my short list because I want the ease of storage & transport that a folding boat provides. From what I've read, I gather that Folbot kayaks are exceptionally stable, but wonder how much performance you give up to get that stability.

Oh, and I will definitely be looking for that "CanoePam" nametag at Canoecopia. Speaking of which, about when can one start making lodging reservations? I've gotten myself on Rutabaga's mailing list already but don't want to miss out on getting convenient lodging while waiting for the Canoecopia Gazette to make it out here via snail mail.

[Bill]

Ray, Pam, Carol -

You have really touched a chord with me. Years ago, my wife and I bought a 16 foot Old Town fiberglass canoe. We used it on our lake in central Maine, but it was too heavy to lug anywhere else very easily. Fun when the kids were small, but too heavy/slow to be much fun if we wanted to paddle to the end of our lake (10 miles long, 2 miles wide). We always regretted that, although we did take some nice camping trips in it - it holds a ton.

Then, about three years ago, with the kids moved out, we discovered KAYAKS! Comfortable, dry, stable kayaks! After some research and experimentation, we bought two Loon 138s, and wow, are they fun! Fast, easy to paddle, comfortable seat and footrests ... who could ask for more. Suddenly the lake is much smaller - 10 miles out and 10 miles still isn't easy, but it's doable. The canoe hasn't been out of the boathouse since.

These kayaks carry on top of the Explorer very nicely. We lugged them all over New England, and then last fall we lugged them from Maine to Arizona, in hopes that we would find some water in Arizona. Turns out there is a lot of water, and it is great for flatwater kayaking (I don't do whitewater). There are 4 or 5 BIG lakes within an easy drive of Scottsdale. As in Colorado, the lakes are really rivers that have been dammed up for flood control, irrigation, and a bit of hydropower. As long as a hundred years ago, they put dams at the lower end of several canyons, and filled 'em up. The resulting lakes are 400 yards wide, 400 feet deep, 25 miles long - and they wind through some of the most spectacular canyon scenery I've ever seen. Vertical cliffs dropping hundreds of feet directly into the water, bighorn sheep, coyotes, Indian petroglyphs, a pertrified forest, campsites that can be reached only by water... Wonderful.

When it came time to return to Maine from Arizona, we decided that, rather than lug them back and forth, it made sense to simply leave those two kayaks in AZ, and buy two more when we got back to Maine. Since we live within an easy drive of Old Town, Maine (and hence the Old Town factory), it was easy to drive up there when they ran their factory sale, and buy another pair of Loon 138's.

I really recommend these Loon kayaks to anyone who wants to get out on the water in something that is fast, easy, and not scary, who does NOT want to do whitewater, does NOT want to get wet in the slightest chop, and does NOT want to do the Eskimo roll every few minutes. They're a blast.

Bill

[RockyMtnRay]

[quote author=Bill link=board=18;threadid=1521;start=msg10755#msg1075 5 date=1068590440]
Then, about three years ago, with the kids moved out, we discovered KAYAKS! Comfortable, dry, stable kayaks! After some research and experimentation, we bought two Loon 138s, and wow, are they fun! Fast, easy to paddle, comfortable seat and footrests ... who could ask for more. Suddenly the lake is much smaller - 10 miles out and 10 miles still isn't easy, but it's doable. The canoe hasn't been out of the boathouse since.

These kayaks carry on top of the Explorer very nicely. We lugged them all over New England, and then last fall we lugged them from Maine to Arizona, in hopes that we would find some water in Arizona. Turns out there is a lot of water, and it is great for flathingyer kayaking (I don't do whitewater).
When it came time to return to Maine from Arizona, we decided that, rather than lug them back and forth, it made sense to simply leave those two kayaks in AZ, and buy two more when we got back to Maine. Since we live within an easy drive of Old Town, Maine (and hence the Old Town factory), it was easy to drive up there when they ran their factory sale, and buy another pair of Loon 138's.

I really recommend these Loon kayaks to anyone who wants to get out on the water in something that is fast, easy, and not scary, who does NOT want to do whitewater, does NOT want to get wet in the slightest chop, and does NOT want to do the Eskimo roll every few minutes. They're a blast.
[/quote]
Very intriguing. I just checked Old Town's website and see that the Loon 138 is 13' 8'' and when constructed from polyethylene weighs 57 lbs (49 lbs for the much pricier 138 Elite which is constructed from fiberglass). I can see why they're very stable though...hull width is a fairly wide 30 inches or so and the hull design is of the type that provides high levels of initial stability. My biggest concerns with this class of kayak have been (1) where the heck do I store a 14 foot boat (my garage is already pretty darn full and I don't have a boathouse) and (2) how difficult will it be to haul/lift/portage a roughly 60 lb boat all by myself.

Kinda wondering how you handled these issues, particularly the storage issue for the boats you keep in AZ.