Traveling like the pioneers, almost – Canoeing the Huron

I have a friend lucky enough to have a home on the Huron River in Dexter and since my home is fairly close to the River in Ypsi we decided to travel by Canoe between the two points. According to Google Pedometer the distance along the river is approximately 27miles. One of the highlights of this years trip was when a mink (yes a mink which are apparently common on the Huron) ran along shore, seemingly following our canoe, for a few hundred yards. There were also a lot of turtles (painted, soft-shell and snapping) sunning themselves and plenty of heron, swans, ducks, and geese. I recommend everyone paddle the river once a year its a great way to relax except for those portages.

There are 5 portages along the route from Dexter to Ypsilanti and most are quite horrible things to encounter. I’m not sure why companies that spend millions on dams aren’t required to provide a portage around the dam but I guess that is America today, the electric lobby is a lot stronger than the canoe lobby.

If you are interested in doing things on the River check out the Huron River Watershed Council and then check out their events page.

It’s been a long time, Frog Island Jazz part II

Last night was another nice performance by the Washtenaw Community College Jazz Orchestra at Frog Island the event was better attended I’m thinking 60 or 70 people but there should be more. One family was smart enough to bring a picnic basket and have dinner while watching the show and more people should do just that. There were a lot of kids playing on the hill near the stage and more kids should do that. There was a group of a guys practicing soccer while enjoying the music and more people should do that. What I’m getting at is that this is a community concert for the community and it is in a park where you can do a lot of things with music in the background if you don’t just want to sit or dance and watch the music.

I would like to point out that the Washtenaw Community College Jazz Band doesn’t play a lot of jazz there seems to be more R&B in their mix than jazz. It’s a good time get out to the park and support the parks.