Friday, March 12, 2010

Southwest Colorado Bakery

just outside of Durango



with a super cool delivery vehicle

making awesome buns and rolls for restaurants

and some sweet loaves of bread for everyone else (sliced and unsliced)

with a separate room for preparing the spelt formulas (preventing cross contamination with the wheat products)

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

surfing rapid leads to the flume (8' drop)



click image to see 2000 pix wide image

Monday, February 15, 2010

snow in the mountains is money in the bank to boaters

http://www.thunderboltskirun.com/index.html

and makes winter more fun if you have a snowboard, skis, snowshoes...

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

spring is around the corner



I'm enjoying the winter: skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, etc.
for now...
but am starting to get a bit excited for spring
and water like this
panorama of Ted in his Gangster hitting up Stairway rapid

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Crossing the River

" We have a saying, 'Dana prajna paramita'. Dana means to give, prajna is wisdom, and paramita means to cross over, or to reach the other shore. Our life can be seen as a crossing of a river. The goal of our life's effort is to reach the other shore, Nirvana. Prajna paramita, the true wisdom of life, is that in each step of the way, the other shore is actually reached. To reach the other shore with each step of the crossing is the way of true living. "

pp. 69-70 of "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" by Shunryu Suzuki
published by Shambhala Publications Inc.
ISBN 13: 978-1-59030-267-5

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Vallecito Creek in Winter



this is south of the campground (thus well below the takeout for the whitewater run), but above where it is totally absorbed by the lake and the confluence of Los Pinos on the other side of Middle Mountain

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

your vote could help a fellow paddler go to New Zealand

http://www.your-big-break.com/entry/10169

Ed Huber has been making videos as long as I've known him. He has a good eye with the camera and a solid sense of what he wants to do with each project.

Having a breakout in the creative world often means finding a way to get your bills paid for a little while so that you can make a project that will have a different impact and gain more exposure. Ed is not a trustfunder. He has always had to work. So, his creative talents have been mostly confined to regional work. (although Lake Placid and Watertown, NY have GREATLY benefitted from his presence)

Give Ed your vote, and give him a chance to sink his teeth into a unique project where I'm sure he'll make an incredible video.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Grand Canyon

http://www.nrsweb.com/clydes_trip/intro.asp?&tn=206

I have applied for permits, so I'm totally obsessing over the logistics, and the blog on NRS' website has been a good place to see things all in one place, and a nice place to start.

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Log in Stairway (2nd drop)

Bulls Bridge, Housatonic River, CT
2nd drop of "Stairway..." rapid, the river right side that slides around "Little Niagra"
Looks like the old log has something new under it that made it stand up.



it's in the main line so a swimmer would probably wash into it
there is a way around it in a boat, but the margin for error is SUPER small
probably best to just wait until we get it out of there

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Fall Creek helmet cam (full run)

Fall Creek helmet cam from ARTandWATER on Vimeo.

Helmet cam footage from 2009

shows you the length (or really, how short) this nice little creek is.

The camera is wide angle so makes things seem a bit smaller, but not by much.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

more to paddling that just the water

There are the friendships, new and old.

There is the environment;
no matter how you feel about the specifics of how we need to manage the environment, I think that most people who are into boating enjoy being outside in a more natural environment

There is the personal challenge;
whether you are pushing your personal limits
getting a personal first descent
challenging a familar move in a new way
getting used some new gear

There is the familiarity
and a sense of belonging
(oddly enough) in a sport that very few people know anything about

Monday, November 16, 2009

sometimes you just need to paddle

and forget your job
forget sales
forget repairs
forget everything else
and just paddle

The East Coast has had water, and this Fall has been relatively warm so far, so I expect that most people are finding ways to get outside and enjoy paddling.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Mad Boy vs. Gangster


Gangster

Mad Boy

in this last photo...
YELLOW boats on left: Critical Mass and Mad Boy
RED boats in middle: Mafia and Mad Boy
BLUE boats on right: Gangster and Mad Boy

some more links with additional information...
Mad
Boy Review

Outfitting
On the Water
first impressions

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Mad Boy vs. Mafia


Mafia

Mad Boy

in this last photo...
YELLOW boats on left: Critical Mass and Mad Boy
RED boats in middle: Mafia and Mad Boy
BLUE boats on right: Gangster and Mad Boy

some more links with additional information...
Mad
Boy Review

Outfitting
On the Water
first impressions

Monday, November 09, 2009

Mad Boy vs. Critical Mass


Critical Mass

Mad Boy

in this last photo...
YELLOW boats on left: Critical Mass and Mad Boy
RED boats in middle: Mafia and Mad Boy
BLUE boats on right: Gangster and Mad Boy

some more links with additional information...
Mad
Boy Review

Outfitting
On the Water
first impressions

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

the Mafia loops? (in the pool)


this video made me smile so I thought I'd share
I'm glad it's still summer around here so no pool yet
think I'll go outside and loop up some creekboat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGGb7j1lHkE

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Boat Sale

just saw this on the DR message board.
Tony Z is selling off what he has left from this past year so it's an opportunity to get a pretty good deal on a Dragorossi kayak.

http://2imagine.net/chat/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=213

Friday, August 14, 2009

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Monday, July 13, 2009

Asheville DR Demo Center; Proud to announce we have a new Madboy demo!

This year Dragorossi came out with the Madboy as their new river running creeker. I have been loving mine taking it down down mellow class III-IV as well as V+.
The Madboy is a fast boat with responsive playfull edges.
I have been calling it my class V slalom boat.
(my extensive review: http://totalwhitewaterfun.blogspot.com/2009/05/dr-madboy-review.html )

So i am happy to announce that we now have a blue Madboy with very little use in our demo fleet. Everyone and anyone should feel to contact me if they would like to try it out for a little while, lifeofloon@gmail.com .

Here are some teaser pictures for you to get an idea of what the new DR outfitting looks like as well as what the edges and hull design look like.








Saturday, July 04, 2009

Monday, June 22, 2009

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Sad News

Kaelan Paton, one of the new generation of Housatonic River paddlers, has disappeared while trying to rescue his friend from high water on the Rattlesnake Section in Falls Village.
http://www.wfsb.com/news/19776818/detail.html
This is a shocking and tragic happening for the area.
Information as it comes out will be posted on NPMB.com

R.I.P. Kaelan
http://www.npmb.com/cms2/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?122503

Scudder's in NJ



David Millrod send me this photo of himself looping his Fish at Scudder's.
This spot has always been pretty good. But a couple of years ago, during a super low water summer, a bunch of the local paddlers got in there and moved the rocks around. What they created was a more reliable spot that gives up the big tricks.

It has gone from a good spot, to an excellent playground for freestyle boating.
So, if you are ever travelling through the mid-atlantic area, bouncing between DC and New York for work or something, it's worth keeping your playboat on your car.
Make a quick stop just north of Trenton, NJ and join the summer fun on the Delaware.

Most of the photos on the American Whitewater site are a bit older, but it will give an idea of the location, and has an excellent run down of the different spots that come in at different levels.
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/2920/

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Clarke Outdoors has new Dragorossi boats

http://www.clarkeoutdoors.com/retail.htm



They currently have inventory of the
Mad Boy for $879
Reactionfor $879
SL 350 plastic slalom boat for $749

give them a call to schedule a demo
and see if you find yourself interested in getting one of these exciting new boats