Canoing from the Triple Whipple, to Split Rock to Rabbit Hash, KY

November 24, 2009

On a beautiful Sunday in November, a bunch of us grabbed some boats and put in at the Triple Whipple bridge in Rising Sun, IN and canoed down to the Ohio River. First, the Triple Whipple bridge in worth noting...

It is among the most important historic bridges in the country. The Triple Whipple Bridge was built in 1878, and on that alone it is significant, but it is actually the only remaining example utilizing a triple intersection Pratt system.

Not only is this bridge old, it is large! Any 300 foot span dating to before 1900 is very noteworthy. It is not known how many were built in the United States, but the total cannot have been large. The Laughery Creek bridge, therefore, is not only a rare survivor, it is a rare type to begin with.

We canoed from the bridge, down to the Ohio... then across to explore "Split Rock." We took a lunch break and realized that among us, we had some Pinot Noir and another white wine, several cheeses, pineapple/mango chutney on triscuits, crackers with chocolate and chunky peanut butter, hummus and sesame seaweed crackers, fine-assed coffee... and all this before the famed Rabbit Hash BBQ. It was a total river culinary experience. Thanks to Melissa, who made a recent trip to Finlay Market, for providing the most interesting stuff to eat :)

We jumped back in the boats and did a final 7 miles or so into the wind down to Rabbit Hash, KY. The blazing sun and wind in my face got me some chapped lips for the day. At Rabbit Hash, we heard some good music in the General Store, ate some BBQ and headed back across the river. Thank you God... for another great day on earth, with friends!

Tags: canoe , friends , trips , nature

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16 miles down Laughry Creek for my birthday

October 27, 2009

Got a lot of great shots on my birthday day trip starting with the early morning drive over to Darian's. The morning sunrise lit the sky in a dramatic display that I could best describe as beautiful pollution :)

We put into Laughry and did 16 awesome miles of some rapid moving water. I think it was running about 1.5 and it was definitely some fun water all the way down with two very small portage points from some fallen trees.

I was home by 5:30 or so to change the oil in the truck, meet the inlaws and have cake with the family. Another year down and I still believe less is more. No gifts or anything complicated, just a quick outing to air out the brain, then back to roll around with the kids and eat some wonderful wife food. Aside from thinking about an eminent vasectomy, life is good.

Video 1

Video 2

Tags: trips , canoe , nature , friends

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1st Annual Apple Smash yields 47 gallons of cider

October 18, 2009

The word for this weekend is most certainly "extraction" - that is, getting the juice from what mother nature has given us. Gently pressing, or violently smashing, it's all good. On Saturday, I helped the Specters press their grapes in Dave's refurbished grape press. On Sunday, we did our "1st Annual Apple Smash" using the cider press my dad refurbished but never got to use. Many years later, it finally did it's maiden smash. Two truckloads of green, red and yellow apples, a dedicated cart, wash, cut and smash crew, and we have 47 gallons of liquid gold. Everyone took home more then enough, and I have enough left to make 20 gallons of apple wine... and 5 gallons of Apple Jack.

Thanks to Dave and Sara Specter, Mark and Tracy Webster, Libby, the kids and my wonderful wife Susan. Special thanks to the Kinkers for providing the beautiful venue, the means, and some mysteriously good coconut curry soup.

With a week of gloomy, dank, cold rainy weather a week before, and a frost the night before, it turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL day and a perfect end to a summer with a very strange crop cycle. I look forward to doing it again next year!

Tags: nature , wine , family , friends

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Images of Spring 2009

May 26, 2009

For us, spring is a busy time of the year, not just with all the work and school stuff going on, but the needs of the garden, grapes and other horticultural rituals we love to do. There is grape pruning, garden tilling, seed planting and bringing out the bananna trees. I have a habit of propagating anything I prune off my grapvines and jade plants even if it is to hand out to friends. I'm not yet sure of the significance to me of why I do it, but maybe it's just a friendship thing... from our house to yours. If that grapevine takes off and becomes something significant, someone might say, "we got that from the Morgan's back in the spring of 2009."

Hannah did her school play "Jack and the Beanstalk" and we've already been down to Louisville the weekend of the Kentucky Derby to make derby pie with Andy and Debbie... who by the way, made it up the very next weekend to do the canoe and camp trip.

Between the wildlife and floral and fauna in our back yard... to the images of all things renewed, Spring just rocks.

Tags: home , nature

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Morgan's Ft. Ancient Canoe and Cabin Trip

May 13, 2009

We shook it up a little this year for Susan's birthday. She usually likes to canoe and camp on her birthday and we usually go to the Brookville location. This year, we tried the Ft. Ancient location since it has been so long since we visited there. We also wanted to pay our visit to the June Morgan River Sanctuary.

It was good to see all my cousins and my uncle Bob who I usually only see during the holidays or other significant gatherings. We stayed in the cabins at Riverside Campground and the place looked beautiful. Upon arrival Lori was weeding the flower beds and Dirk was making picnic tables. It's clear the Morgans go out of their way to provide a fun-filled experience with the grounds pleasing to the eye and hospitality equal to down south.

We were driven up the river to put in at the Livery. Cousin Randy opened the door of the van and greeted us while Gary gave us a tour of the livery and the upstairs museum. I'm so glad my family are the chief proprietors around these parts. They have collected knowledge of the area and responsibly documented it as well as organized fossils, points, stones and other artifacts for display and education. The Morgans truly are the keepers of this land and river.

The canoe trip was as scenic as ever. We stopped at Junes Sanctuary and talked about her pioneering the efforts to clean up this once polluted river. The weather was beautiful and we soaked in the scenery and even caught some turtles basking in the sun on a log (see pictures).

After the trip, I ran into my uncle Bob at Riverside campground and got to catch up and update him on my dad. Then, Dirk showed us a tree that was leaning over a little too far so he jumped on the tractor and pulled it straight. Sunday morning, I watched (with some guilt) Dirk pounding rocks and dirt around the planter to stabilize the tree that we straightened the day before.

Later in the evening on Saturday, Dirk and Lori gave us a tour of their home and we finally got our glimpse of the famed turtle rock as well as the other awesome artifacts in Dirk's personal collection. Later, they set up a corn-hole tournament at the campground that thoroughly entertained us and our guests. It's been a long time since I've been able to slow down and forget about work and responsibility and I want to thank my family for welcoming us and our visiting friends from Louisville and helping us forget about things for a while. For those of us over-worked and under-paid, it really goes a long way and means a lot. After our friends Andy and Debbie were stuck on I-71 for an hour and a half on their commute up on Saturday morning, it really meant a lot to them as well.

These pictures should capture the trip just fine. Enjoy, and we really want to go back soon!

Thanks and much love, Jason and Susan

Tags: family , canoe , ft. ancient , nature

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