World Rivers Day

September 28th marks World Rivers Day, established in 2005 to promote a greater awareness of the role rivers play in our lives. Unfortunately I won't be out on a river tomorrow, since I've already made plans to attend the Ohio Renaissance Festival with friends, but I did paddle the mighty Muskingum River for sixteen miles last weekend with a good friend (pictured). The village of Dresden, Ohio held its first annual Melon Festival last Saturday along with the first annual Paddlefest.

The Muskingum River flows 111 miles through Ohio, joining the Ohio River at Marietta. The river begins at Coshocton, which is where we put in and paddled down to the historic suspension bridge at Dresden. In this section it is a broad, sleepy river, tree-lined and peaceful if one overlooks the power plant at Conesville. Bald eagles are known to nest along the river, though I didn't spot any on this trip, we were lucky enough to watch an osprey dive and catch a fish while we were having dinner later that night at Muddy Misers in Zanesville.

Blackout

It's been nearly two weeks since the remnants of Hurricane Ike crashed through Cincinnati, leaving 90% of the city without electricity. There are still piles of branches in front of houses waiting to be picked up and mulched by the city. I tried to go hiking in both of my nearby city parks today, but the trails in Caldwell Nature Preserve and French Park are still closed due to storm damage.

Tree down in Norwood, picture by Sonnet via Flickr.

I got off pretty light by anyone's standards. As soon as the power went off that Sunday, I realized it wasn't going to be coming back that day at any rate, so I jumped in my car and drove to Bigg's, where I purchased two 25 pound bags of ice. I brought them home and put one in my freezer and one in my fridge, so I didn't lose much food and was able to have cold drinks throughout the three days my house was without power. Also, my building has gas for cooking and for the water heater, so I was able to cook and have hot showers unlike many of my fellow Cincinnatians. We were quite fortunate in that the weather following the wind storm was quite mild with no rain and neither too hot nor too cold, plus there was a full moon so there was a bit of light at night.

Now that the power is back on I've been re-assessing my emergency supplies. I had plenty of candles, flashlights, food and such, but I lacked a good lantern to read by at night and my weather radio ate 9V batteries like they were cookies. I purchased an LED lantern that will run for 60 hours on 4 AA batteries; it can also be charged through a cigarette lighter adapter or a hand crank. I also bought a Grundig emergency radio that can be powered via AA batteries, the on-board rechargeable NiMh batteries or a hand crank. That leaves me trying to decide on a non-electric space heater - being without power in my building in the winter would mean being very cold indeed. I think I'm leaning towards a propane heater since the fuel is easy to store.

Edited to add a link to this story about the cost of Hurricane Ike in Ohio. When the lights came back on and I was able to catch up on the news, I was a bit surprised that the national news hadn't made note of the damage Ike had done to the Midwest. Of course, it was nothing compared to Texas and there was a lot going on in the news (such as a major banking crisis), but I as far as I could find we only got one tiny mention, an afterthought really, on CNN's website.

Biking and Kayaking the Little Miami

I managed to work out my bike/kayak personal biathlon on Sunday. I dropped the kayak at a little park (Rahe) near Foster, Ohio, and left it cabled and locked to a tree there. I really just had to hope no one would steal my lunch or my paddle, as there wasn't much I could do to protect them. It turns out Rahe is a good spot to do this though, as the Loveland Canoe/Kayak Livery also uses this park as a put-in point and on the weekends they have one or two people hanging out there to watch their own boats, which tends to discourage thieves. After leaving the kayak, I drove down to Lake Isabella and parked my car, then rode my bike the nine or so miles up the bike trail to where I'd left the kayak. Goodness, there was a lot of traffic in the Loveland area of the bike trail that day! Once I arrived back at Rahe park, I chained my bike and my helmet to a tree, then paddled eight miles back down to Lake Isabella. The bike ride took about an hour and the kayaking bit took about three, given that it was the last day of August and we've had little rain in the last few weeks. There were plenty of very shallow spots and I had to pick my way through a couple of rock gardens, but I only had to get out of my boat once. That was when I took the wrong way around an island and came across a strainer with only a little room to maneuver, so I decided discretion was the better part of valor and portaged around.

I had lunch with the green heron pictured; I was no more than twenty feet from the bird while it fished and I ate cheese and crackers. It's one of the many things I love about kayaking - you can get really close to wildlife at times. I also had an osprey fly right over my head (twice!) with a fish in its talons, a breathtaking sight! Ospreys have this way of holding a fish, once caught, so that the fish's head points in the direction the bird is traveling so as to reduce drag. It's always a treat to see an osprey, especially in Ohio as they aren't all that common here.

Once I got back to Lake Isabella, it was just a matter of loading the kayak onto the car and driving back to pick up my bike. It took a bit of planning but now that I know what I'm doing, I'll surely be doing it again.

Hattie Callan

Here is the best quote coming out of the Hurricane Gustav coverage:

But the French Quarter was far from empty.

Hattie Callan, 36, weaved her way down the street Sunday, a vodka drink already in her hand and it only 9:20 in the morning. She was staying behind to watch over several houses, and she wasn't worried.

"I've got liquor, cash, food, ammo and weed," she said as she floated out of sight.

Awesome

The Omnivore's Hundred

Here's a meme I blagged off of Serious Eats today. It's The Omnivore's Hundred by way of Very Good Taste. The items in bold font are foods I've actually tried.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht (and why not? I need to make some this winter)
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (Do fruit flies count? I've probably eaten dozens without knowing it)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine

60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe (on my list now that it's available in the States)
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (Yup, iguana and manicou in Trinidad)
76. Baijiu or shaojiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie (never again)
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant

85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers (nasturtiums, lilies, violets, zucchini blossoms)
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Cyling on the cheap

As I was out for an early morning run on Saturday, I happened by some people setting up for a garage sale. I noticed a purple bike amidst their things so I asked how much they wanted for it - when the young man answered fifteen, I had to stop. I rode the bike around the street a couple of times and it seemed good to me, so I asked them to hold onto it for me while I ran home and got some money to pay them. I walked back to pick it up and the people were nice enough to throw in a used helmet so I could ride the bike back home.

Once I got the bicycle home, I realized there was no way to fit it into my car and I knew I'd be wanting to take it places. Ohio has a lovely bike trail running alongside the Little Miami River, but that's on the other side of town from me. That lead me on a quest to get a trunk mounted bike rack; I found one at Play it Again Sports for twenty bucks. Then I needed some chain lube, that set me back another nine. Of course I needed a bike lock - in my neighborhood I can't see an unchained bike, even a used off-brand like mine, lasting long. And I needed a new helmet, since the freebie one was just not cool enough. So with all the extras, my fifteen dollar bike ended up costing me around seventy-five bucks. It's still a bargain really and I've had it out on the Lunken Airport loop a couple of times already and it's been great so far. All I've had to do was put some air in the tires and oil the chain and other moving parts.

My ultimate goal is to figure out a couple of put-in and take-out places along the Little Miami so I can take bike/kayak trips. I'd leave the kayak at the put-in, drive out to the take-out, leave the car and pedal back to the boat, then leave the bike locked up while I float down the river, then come back for the bike after the kayaking, once I've put the kayak back onto the car. Biathlon!

Two boats!

Last night I paddled the Great Miami River for the first time. I went with the regular Thursday night group of the Cincy Paddlers and I had a blast! It was the biggest water I've ever tackled in my boat. There is a wave train near the end of the run that consists of a series of two foot waves - it was a little scary but awfully fun and I got thoroughly drenched in the process. I can't wait to go again! The people of the Cincy Paddlers group couldn't be better. I had lots of guidance and encouragement from the more experienced members.

I also purchased a second boat last night. It's just a cheap Pelican Burst sit-on-top, but it will be nice to have when I want to take another person with me out on the Little Miami or another easy run. I just have to buy another paddle and paste the Ohio registration numbers on the hull and I'm all set.

Advice

"There are some swirly bits at the end. Don't worry about them. Just keep paddling. Paddling gives you stability."

Yes, meant for the river, but good advice for any turmoil.

American Lotus at Cowan Lake

Last night I joined the local chapter of the Sierra Club for a paddle around Cowan Lake to see the American Lotus in bloom. There are acres of them located along the shores of the eastern portion of the lake! They are simply stunning; the leaves grow up to two feet across and some lie on the surface of the water while others rise as much as two feet above. The flowers are big and showy, creamy yellow and up to ten inches across and are supposed to be the largest American wildflower.

American lotus seeds can remain viable for up to four hundred years! The seeds and rhizomes were used by Native Americans as food and it is believed they deliberately spread the plant northward from its original range. In most parts of North America, they will begin to bloom in mid-June to mid-July and will continue to bloom on into autumn.

The 700 acre Cowan Lake is excellent for paddling, as it is restricted to a 10 hp limit. Canoe rentals are available and there is also a Lotus Cove boardwalk trail from which to view the lotuses without getting in the water.

There are lots more photos in my Cowan Lake Paddle set on Flickr