What an awesome cruise!

Blessed with the first super-nice day of spring, the April 19 cruise on the Big Sioux River was a hoot, and we do feel sorry for all who missed it.

Things started smoothly with a orderly set-up at the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribal powwow grounds north of Flandreau. We send huge thanks to David from the tribal office who authorized our use of the spot. We're pretty certain we left it as we found it. It was a pretty perfect place to launch. (A few paddlers asked me, and I do believe they would be OK with people launching from there in the future, but call the tribe's office in Flandreau before you do so, to be certain. 605-997-3891.)



KDLT news was out at the event and mentioned the cruise on their 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts. Their Web site also has information (text) on the event. Thanks, KDLT, for the coverage. About 70+ paddlers were in the mix, with everything from one-man canoes to inflatable kayaks taking on the river's cold but mild current. (FYI, our club name is the South Dakota Canoe Association, and kayaking does not have a C in it.)

I was quite proud of Laura, who was the first woman to put-in. The rapids were a bit intimidating for everyone setting up and looking the site over, but she was hot to hit 'em, and while she got snagged near some brush in the mouth of the fast water, she put her experience to use and got her self free. She was up front taking these nice snaps during the cruise.








The tribe's bison herd was visible and these cool horses were "performing" along one stretch of the river. They were beautiful. Other wildlife sightings included beaver and muskrat, plenty of birds, including a possible baldie!






Our friends Bret and Dawn came up from Omaha, and they had a blast. Dawn sailed through the rapids like a professional, and while Bret got wet last summer on the BSR, he stayed dry this time around. It was really awesome having them with us on this trip. Dawn beat all of to the take-out spot.



The conditions were just-right for the day: the wind was only noticeable on a few stretches, and I'm guess several people (like me) didn't notice how sunny it was and are looking at pink cheeks today. Or pink forearms.

As I paddled the route, I chatted with a number of folks who were enjoying the trip. I know one chap mentioned it was a bit short as people were finishing and loading in the Flandreau City Park. It was done and over in about two hours, but for early season, it felt right for a lot of folks. If we revisit this route, we could continue on to a take-out near the lowhead dam in Flandreau proper, it'd pry add an hour, plus it'd give paddlers a chance to explore the fat part of the river on the north edge of town.

With no injuries or wet folks at the end, I call the event a success. My thanks go out to all the paddlers who came to take part, special thanks to my wife, for all her support and encouragement, and huge thanks to Steven Dahlmeier for putting in a TON of help with getting out the word. Jay Heath, the leadership of the SDCA, and the Sierra Club, all deserve my thank-yous as well.

Laura and I are hoping to get out and test drive a pair of boats we want to buy, but probably not today. We're hoping to post on Lake Benton this week.

Don't forget the May 10 Missouri River paddle in Vermillion. We'll be posting about that soon, too, both here and on the official SDCA web log, www.sdcka.blogspot.com.

Jarett