Tony arrived at the NTR Canoe Livery in Bolivar, Ohio, midafternoon followed quickly by Ted and Connie. After setting up their camps it was lunch time at the Lockport Brewery 6 tenths of a mile away. Great Panini sandwiches. Returning to camp they were met by Brad and sisters Rhonda and Ruth. Camp was very spread out as NTR's campground follows the river line and OHCRA had the whole place. The livery was only open with reservations so even the staff were not there Friday. Early evening Harold and Laurie came in, Liz and Coleen, Steve, Ken, Lance and finally trip leaders Chuck and Karrie. Hotdogs were cooked over the campfire, which felt very nice in the cool evening and card playing commenced until bedtime, which was around midnight. There was lots of highway noise from interstate 77 which runs next to the campground.
It was a cool night for early September and some folks reported being uncomfortable during the night so the fire was rekindled in the morning and again felt great. The shining sun promised to warm the day so everyone got ready for the shuttle. At 9:15 Am., two vehicles with two canoe trailers headed to the Craig Pittman Memorial Park just south of the town of Navarre. Nickle's Bakery is located there and driving through town smells just like grandma's house. Tony took a stone path with Steve following until they realized they were driving on the towpath trail. With no room to turn around, they had to back .5 mile back to the correct launch area. Got the boats and gear unloaded on a gravel bar then took vehicles to a separate parking area a 100 or so yards away and still managed to get on the water by 10:15 am. There were 10 boats on the river, 7 canoes and 3 kkkayaks holding 12 people. Ted, Connie and Laurie chose to sight see instead of paddling. The river level was ok, 1.65' on USGS gage, but any lower would have made some dragging happen. Another 2-3 inches would have been nice.
As a group the following wildlife was seen: an eagle, squirrels, ducks, a mink, herons, geese and plenty of songbirds. It was a beautiful early fall / late summer day with no wind, plenty of sun and fun. The only mishap was at the take out back at camp. Coleen was getting out of the bow seat and caught her foot on the gunnel falling into the muddy shoreline water. If only that damn rock hadn't caught her knee causing the blood spill kit to come out (not really just bandages). All the boats were pulled up a 5 foot bank right at the campfire ring ending a 12.5 mile paddle that took 4 hours and 15 minutes including a 30 minute lunch stop.
After getting comfortable games were played, snacks came out and everyone grazed until potluck time. The weekend's potluck theme was tailgate food and there was much. Chili, taco soup, wings, pizza rolls, walking tacos, mac and cheese, fried yellow zucchini, cheese, fruit and pies. In fact the club was celebrating Coleen's birthday and since she doesn't like cake, Liz had pumpkin pies, one with the numbers 6 and 0 on it for some reason. As always it was a great feast and after cleanup it was time again to enjoy a fire and digest the day's activities (and food). Ohio State was playing football against Oklahoma and half the crew drove and walked the 1/2 mile to Vaughn's bar and grill to watch the game. Some came back at halftime with the others walking back after the game in mourning. A big OSU loss. The folks who didn't hit the hay early kept the fire going until midnight then disappeared until snoring was heard.
Sunday was a day for the record books. Most of the members slept in until after 8:00 am. That doesn't happen very often and when everyone was up guess what, a breakfast feast was cooked. Ham, sausage, eggs, pancakes, hash browns. More eating and sitting around the fire, this time to finish off the wood that survived the previous fires. It was getting warm quickly in the bright sunshine as folks dismantled camp. Soon cars were pulling out leaving only trampled grass and wood ashes where 15 OHCRA members enjoyed another monthly outing.
