Winter weekend.

I must say, it's been a pretty good weekend, and winter, here. Lots of snow and cold sure, but knock wood, I've been pretty healthy, eating good, and getting a lot of reading done.

[Started writing this post Sunday night; posted on Monday]

Yesterday, Mal and I went to a Canoe/Kayak convention in the local convention center. I paid $10 for the day; he paid $15 for a 3-day pass that let him go back today as well. Now he missed last year, but has gone a few times in years past. Pretty much, I always thought, "That's not my thing." No fan of crowds, no fan of overpriced (to me) merchandise, I'm pretty happy with my decade+ old kayak, my slip over the head comfortable PFD, and my collapsible paddle.

You know how people see cars as different things? Some see "Status Symbol", like a commentary on style, wealth or lately, how "green" they are. Some see it as a tool, though, just a thing to get you places you want to be. That's pretty much me, though as you can tell from the photos, I do tend to form an attachment to my things over time. But again, more as a tool to get you there.

I loved it when I started paddling this kayak -- an Old Towne Otter -- as it was lightweight (twenty something pounds) and easy to maneuver. Well built with an iron bar down the middle stabilizing it, even the "deluxe" version" with the wider fold-down seat, adjustable foot rests, and drink holder between the legs for a water bottle. Neato colored one too. I got it up North, though I brought it down and kept it on Lake Wingra the first year of law school.

For a few hundred dollars, this boat has taken me places you simply can't go with a bigger boat. I've got an anchor, and have fished off it, but for the most part, I like to stick to paddling the rivers and smaller lakes. You can turn it around easy, and get into the lily pads though I try not to much disturb the nesting and mating activities of the others.

That's it. That's about all I could tell you about my boat, definitely less than 5 minutes worth. Now if you want to talk about the rivers and streams up North, that's another story. Where to put in and take out, what times are best, even the time I was paddling solo in fog on a Hudson lake that probably could qualify as one of the most mysterious feelings in my life -- you could barely see the outline of the shore, which I was trying to keep close to that morning, and the sounds of the geese somewhere out there in the not too far distance ... that I could talk about. But the boat itself, not really.

But like with cars, I've found there are plenty of people who would spend all day discussing options, comparing prices, yadda yadda. To me, that's time wasted where you could be out doing-- driving, getting somewhere, in this case paddling. It's one reason I don't think much of "women's kayaking groups". The whole idea is to break free, to get out, not to cluster up in groups, giggling and talking about your strokes. Either you can do it, or you can't.

It's one reason why after a season, even Lake Wingra felt limiting, though it was a nice getaway to cut across the lake on weekends when there was no wake traffic and there were limited options for getting away in Madison proper.

So when Mal asked me if I wanted to go yesterday, spend time with coughing people inside on a sunny day, my first instinct was again to decline. But I'm glad I went: from 9:30 to 4:30, I was treated to 8 presentations, 5 or 6 magnificent and only two duds. He had circled the ones he wanted to see, and several were offered today too. For a few, we overlapped in our tastes. For some, we went our own ways. For the last hour or two, and today, he spent time in the giant commercial end of it -- the "for sale" part of the convention center. I made my way past folks yesterday for about 20 minutes in between presentations to drop off two raffle tickets they gave you coming in -- and to check and see if we were instant winners; we weren't -- and that exposure was plenty enough for me.

Some people like the toys, like "upgrading", like having the latest thing as if that will magically change the experience. Mostly I think, they're not so much doers and goers, as they are talkers. Me? Not so much.

But here are the 6 oral and video presentations I attended that were well worth it:

1) Cliff Jacobson's humorous take on outdoor apparel -- what works in practice and mostly, what doesn't (zippered pants, velcroed hat flaps in the wind). Again my theory there, is find a little wool, thin cotton, good raingear, and stick to it. Less really is more...

2) A great presentation by an amateur (as opposed to "sponsored") from Indiana, on a trip to Canada's Thulon River June 21, 2004 to July 8, and pictures of the wildlife they encountered on the tundra, with some of the ice still breaking up and glacial waters making journeys up any of the tributaries impossible. Still -- too early for bugs!

3) A federal park ranger presenation, including a closing poem that really fit, on "our" river(s) up North. I'm not mentioning names since so many people seem content to pass on these in favor of say Boundary Waters, but I love them. Mal and I don't actually own a tent. A nice hammock for one that encloses over your head if you hang it right, keeping out bugs and even light rain. Plenty warm sleeping on a wool blanket with proper covering. And the sight and sounds when you wake in the middle of the night in the forest... Plus an F-150 with a topper and screened windows, that we've converted with cozy comforters, mattresses and pillows into the deluxe camping version. There too, the sound of rain on the roof, and the view through the window and easy access out the tailgate and storage underneath ... I don't get why two people would need any more. Comfort, cheap, and again, the views...

4) An intro to BWCA (Boundary Waters Canoe Area). I dunno... portaging to prove something; the crowds that July and August brings, even with a 9-limit party rule; and the expense (including drive with gas what it is, and the need to secure extra vacation days off...) Glad I went to the presentation, but I don't see that vacation in my future this summer anyway.

5) A man named Crowley's 54-day journey "going round" Ireland clockwise from Dublin to Dublin. He was out for about 83 days, having to spend 10 days alone with one family who took him in and enjoyed his company at meals due to the poor summer weather in Ireland last summer. I'm not a sea kayaker, don't care for the long boats, so I'd never plan that one myself. But his pictures of Skellig Michael, and his stories about the hospitable people who made what could have been a bummer journey, even an aborted trip, end up a pleasure made the presentation well worth it.

6) Finally, the best presentation of the day, by "Lena" a Swede outdoorswoman who primarily runs trips off the coasts of Norway. Just hilarious, and beautiful pictures as well. I'm sure she'll see some bookings, as she takes plenty of older people/retirees -- no experience required -- and plenty are day trips, meaning you can return to shore and sleep in cottages after filling your belly with the finest native cuisine. Even runs an excursion to Dubrovnik, Croatia, where the food and the exchange rate are well worth it; and a winter dogsled excursion helping the reindeer/caribou along on their annual migration. Mostly though, it was the Norwegian jokes told by a Swede, and her competent trip planning skills that came through after she and her husband set up their own company after being guides for so many years...

The 2 presentatations that weren't up to muster:

1) A fellow who was sponsored by plenty -- even asked for donations of our own if we were so inspired -- who travelled around Lake Superior beginning in mid-September, tracked by schoolkids online daily. They "directed" his journeys (whether he should continue paddling or where to bring it in), and he posted via laptop and phone power every night. Beh.

I'm not much for having your travels paid for on the backs of "educational" sponsors for schoolkids, and sadly for so many, this seems to be the wave of the future. Watching, rather than doing. (Which is why I don't worry much about the huge numbers who attend such a convention -- if 1/3 get out on the water this summer, I'd be surprised) Lake Superior in autumn, as he found out, is much too late really. And the jokes about the woman who paddled with him (a girlfriend? who knows?) were just one too many for my non-schoolchild tastes.

Plus, camping on rock doesn't excite anyone, and having to paddle at night in the dark (as opposed to Lena's summer "Land of the Midnight Sun", say) because you've got to make up miles if you're going to complete your journey before November sets in ... what's fun about that?

2) The 4:30pm presentation I checked out, because there wasn't much offered at the time, and it could have been interesting in better hands, was called "Paddling with Children". In my dreams, I'd homeschool any of mine. Use the summers, the outdoors, and the collected textbooks and older non-fiction (it really was better written in the 50s and 60s!) to supplement the outdoor laboratory. Build their bodies, teach them maturity through doing, and have them with us -- not led by some educational major.

But this woman -- again sponsored by many outfitters and writing a book on how to involve children in the outdoors -- only gave common-sense basics: Expect trips to take longer, and be more spontaneous with a child along. Swim when it's warm, and stop and check things out along the way, if you're the destination-driven types who don't do that already. (We're not.) Bring along snacks, small journal books, and their own fishing pole to keep children occupied. A mounted umbrella in the canoe is nice for them in both light rain, and sun. Nothing you didn't already know, if you've been out paddling yourself.

Plus, even with a child along, I think you should respect the "Take only pictures" rules, and not pick up collectibles along the way. What are you teaching them by letting them take things they find? And what could have been a good question: how do you deal with diapers? became only the basic -- "pack it out, and double bag" advice. Here's one -- how about just day trips until junior is potty-trained at least, and why the heck would you take a toddler out in areas where you have to worry about bears at night anyway?

Mostly what I didn't like was this woman's maniacal laugh, and her using her child to "hold up" things like the memo pads or snack bags. Yeah we get it. Passing the microphone and having your child tell us what that was ... I'm not much for using your child to futher your own "career" as a parent-outdoorswoman expert. The whole presentation, she admitted, was poorly planned and badly presented. Too bad, as it could have been an interesting topic if she was organized and knew what she was doing.

Mal enjoyed himself yesterday, came home with a nice pair of pants. He paid a lot, but he'll get his use out of them, and unlike me, it's not as easy for him sizewise to find discards at the local thrift stores from people who have unused outdoor gear they paid a lot for, and later donated and put back on the shelves.

Sunny out there now; lots to catch up on this week (taxes, etc.) so posting will be light. Make it a great week, all! (Yes you can.)