Coldwater Creek Canoe Caper

This Saturday we took a 4-mile canoe trip on Coldwater Creek that feeds into the Blackwater River about 30 miles from home. We rented one canoe from Adventures Unlimited and packed a picnic lunch. After we picked our life jackets and paddles, they drove us and our canoe up-river and helped us carry everything down to the water and get our canoe loaded. Then we were on our own in the wilderness for the next 3 hours! It was so quiet and peaceful! The water was very shallow in some places and as deep as 6 or 7 feet in other areas. There were several sandy beaches along the way that we could stop and explore. The river was mostly very calm and slow. Since we started at 10AM much of the route was shaded and so beautiful. We saw a big turtle, several fish, and a few butterflies along the way. We only had one man overboard - Ethan leaned over the edge just as we bumped a tree stump and he fell out head first. Thankfully all he got was soaking wet and a good lesson learned. When mom and dad say "don't lean over the edge cause you might fall out", hey, they DO know what they're talking about! He came up surprised and freezing but still smiling! We found a great shaded beach right after Ethan’s spill, so we stopped to let him drip dry a while and have our picnic. We had so much fun! Some of these pictures remind me of another brother and sister who used to collect rocks and throw sticks in the creeks along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The water wasn't quite as cold, but close. Good memories! We will definitely go again soon.


We've got life jackets, sunscreen, bugspray, hats, and paddles...let's go!

This is Ethan after being hauled out of the river by the rear of his life jacket. Cold and wet, but no damage done!

They got started on a pretty good rock collection along the way.

Ham and cheese sandwicheds, Doritos, apples, strawberries, and double-stuffed oreos! Mmmm!

That face is because she heard something buzzing.