I’m a water girl – confirmed years ago growing up on a lake. Get me near water, better yet on water and I’m content. So getting the chance Friday morning to canoe part of the Huron River with my aunt was a gift.
The Huron River starts up near me at Indian Springs, a park Katie and I enjoy regularly, and flows all the way to Lake Erie, 130 miles in all. We paddled 8 miles on Friday morning under a bright blue sky. The water was crystal clear, with large brown fish (trout?) darting below our boat, among the intense green of the river grasses.
The current was gentle but persistent, assisting our trip downriver but not so quick that we couldn’t enjoy the lovely views along the way. The banks were often covered in blue forget-me-not flowers, the sunlight falling on them in dappled joy through the new spring green foliage of the trees above.
Mostly the river was smooth and calm, reflecting the sky and trees, shining on the water bugs scurrying away from our silent canoe. Occasionally we rode through some moderate rapids…
…calling on the skill of my aunt, the expert in the stern to pick the best spot to slide by the largest rocks.
The only people we saw were fishermen also enjoying the quiet beauty of the river.
But we saw lots of nature. A blue heron flew across the river in front of us and around a bend, hidden by trees, only to wait for us in the shallows, ignoring us as we passed. Another heron stood proudly on a log, posing as we glided by.
We saw giant snapping turtles laying eggs on sandy banks, mallard ducks preening on a log, and several families of geese enjoying the beautiful sunny day.
We had such a lovely time, I’m grateful for the opportunity to canoe with my aunt on a river she and my dad used paddle as kids. I remember other canoe trips with my folks, and one trip on this river, though a different stretch of it, with my dad. The Huron stretches 140 miles across this part of Michigan, and right through the hearts of my family.
Aren’t I lucky.
June 5, 2016 at 11:33 am
Lucky? Indeed you are, as are those of us who get to share your adventures (and Katie’s) on a regular basis!
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June 5, 2016 at 11:51 am
I’m glad to take you along!
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June 5, 2016 at 11:48 am
What a wonderful trip! And it nudges me to get out on some of my favorite rivers before they become clogged with other like-minded folks who want to spend time on the water, but who I want to avoid 😉
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June 5, 2016 at 11:51 am
Qucik! You’ve only got a little time before school gets out! 🙂
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June 5, 2016 at 11:52 am
I told my aunt I wish I had taken my ‘good’ camera. But good camera and canoe…somehow didn’t seem a good idea. As it was it would have been great.
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June 5, 2016 at 11:54 am
That’s true! But really, we have until July. Things really change here in July and August. Then it doesn’t feel like the home I know and love. I still love it, but I get more reclusive about the places I visit.
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June 5, 2016 at 12:08 pm
There is nothing like a Michigan river and drifting (and paddling) gently along with the current. I’ve paddled the Ausable in Grayling and it is very relaxing.
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June 5, 2016 at 12:10 pm
We’ve done that river too, it’s one of my favorites, along with the Rifle River. I’m lucky to live near the Huron.
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June 5, 2016 at 12:29 pm
You ARE lucky! Looks like a beautiful, peaceful, memorable trip.
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June 5, 2016 at 7:59 pm
It was, and a lot of fun too.
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June 5, 2016 at 1:10 pm
You are lucky. It was fun to read this and imagine your paddling down this beautiful river. For a moment I wondered if you had taken Katie in the canoe, and then figured–not a chance. The last time I was in a canoe ended up in a dunk in the Jordan River up near Bellaire and Mancelona. It’s so peaceful (usually) when one is serenely paddling enjoying the wildlife.
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June 5, 2016 at 8:00 pm
No way would Katie stay in the canoe. It was much more peaceful without her!
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June 5, 2016 at 2:24 pm
You’re a lucky lady, Dawn — and I enjoyed canoeing on the river vicariously. I’ve never been canoeing, you know. Fear of the water runs waaaaay back in my family, but for some odd reason, being near water draws me like nothing else. What a beautiful place to visit — it really is Pure Michigan!!
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June 5, 2016 at 8:01 pm
This river was so shallow you’d have been able to stand up no matter where you were. That would make it a bit less scary. It really is beautiful.
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June 5, 2016 at 3:07 pm
I love the serenity of being out in the canoe on a river or in a small lake.
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June 5, 2016 at 8:01 pm
Me too…
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June 5, 2016 at 7:39 pm
Things that make you go, “Ahhhhhhhh…” – that’s what I was thinking as I read this post! How nice!
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June 5, 2016 at 8:02 pm
It did that…make me go ahhhhhhh.
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June 8, 2016 at 1:11 pm
You are very lucky. I miss having streams and stuff like you have back east (I consider Michigan back east!) I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. All the greenery. I’m glad you enjoyed a good day with your aunt too, and your descriptions of what you saw were just lovely. What a way with words. (and pics.)
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June 8, 2016 at 9:14 pm
Thank you Terri. I guess places different than where we currently live always have a lure. I’m wishing I could spend some more time in your part of the country, haven’t been there in years and I’d LOVE to be out there photographing the different landscapes, especially in Utah. But, I also enjoy the green, and it’s certainly lush this spring!
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