"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime"-MARK TWAIN

Sunday, April 28, 2013

A Taste of the Buffalo

 

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As I happened to have the inflatable in the truck, and we were staying just a couple hundred yards from the Buffalo River, a float seemed in order.  The only negative was an East wind that was blowing steady with some big gusts.  What the heck, might not be here again in the near future.

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Just a few minutes later, thanks to a 12 volt pump I modified to fit the kayak, I was on my way.

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I only floated four miles or so, which took about an hour.  Though I don’t really think it did, the wind seemed to have me going backward at times.  The scenery was nice, alternating between high bluffs and rocky sand bars.

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Lots of slides and trails on the shore.  Not sure if they were beaver or otter.  Maybe both.

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The skies were overcast and the light didn’t make for good pictures, but you can get a feeling for the beauty of the area.

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Many caves in the rocks.

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And the dogwoods were putting on a show all by themselves.

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Soon it was time to hit the shore.  My shuttle was waiting.

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I actually had planned to do a longer trip the next day, but the wind was even stronger with a chance of rain.  I still have a little fine tuning to do on the kayak as to finding the best seat position.  Otherwise, I like it.  It’s definitely not as swift or sleek as the real thing, but it fits my purposes.  I hope to get it back to the Buffalo for a longer float, soon….jc

7 comments:

  1. Me, me, he says waving his hand! Looks like potential for a nice multi day trip!

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  2. Float, rather than paddle, seems to me to be the key word there! Looked delightful.

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  3. You are bringing back memories. My parents floated the Buffalo with a church group a long time ago, they overturned, Daddy went under and all were becoming concerned when he finally surfaced minus a $3000 hearing aide!!!

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  4. I'd love to have an inflatable boat!

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  5. I love the Buffalo River with its scenic remoteness, bluffs and gravel bars. Only been on it once, many years ago, but we camped at Buffalo Point last fall after the Kansas rally. Your pictures reminded me of that side trip.

    David did a week long trip many years ago. So glad you got the chance and went for it!

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  6. Looks like a great time was had with that scenery...who is the manufacture of the inflatable...that looks like the ticket for a space saving kayak...Horst

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  7. Thanks for the info on the kayak...have a great week...Horst

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Thanks for looking, and comments are welcome.