Boating Safety: Key To A Good Time.....

We are firm believers in fun, but even more so in "safe fun." Here's a link to a cool app that helps every boater identify what is needed for safety

http://www.abycinc.org/mobileapps/

We encourage you to check it out and to "Get Outside and Play."

Kayaking The Ohio River Locks.....

We spoke to some folks on Sunday from the Green Kayak Market & Eatery and found out that we missed out on a trip through the 1200' lock at the Meldahl dam on the Ohio River. What were we thinking?????

We were directed to the Green Kayak Facebook page (www.facebook.com/greenkayakmarket)  where we saw some cool pics and a little bit of commentary. The pics look amazing and it's so cool that TJ, the Green Kayak dog, took the trip. Here is one of the pics pilfered (with permission) from the Green Kayak Facebook page

He is one cool dog.......

We were told that the folks at the Green Kayak will be setting up several more "Adventure Trips" through the Locks the remainder of this year. We fully intend to go. I hope they advertise more in the future to let everyone know what is happening.

There are so many cool folks that have gravitated to the Green Kayak. We were told (and met one) of the two Steves; one who made his own kayak and the other who has the longest kayak known to man and hits the Ohio on a regular basis. There are all the great musicians we have listened to on the Old Lodge Stage like Jim, Ryan, Drew, Tracy, Tana, Roy, The Dishes, Noah, Jonathan and more......Even a bunch of lawyers showed up once to play (we here one of the owners may be a lawyer???? ) Not sure this is true, but pretty crazy if it is.....

Back to the trip through the Ohio River lock. We have not been through the Dam locks, but going with some of these folks sounds fun. Despite not going, we did do a little research and learned the drop in water level is a good 30 feet and they're even installing a turbine at the dam to generate electricity....If you have even a small interest in how things work, personally witnessing a working lock will be so amazing. These locks provide so much economic benefit to our region, making the Ohio River one of the "super highways" of our Country....

See you soon!!! Remember to "Get Outside and Play."

Look At The Nose On That Fish...

While paddling on the Ohio River you may get lucky and see one of the oldest and oddest fish in these waters--the Paddlefish. Fossils of these fish have been found from millions of years ago; perhaps a bit larger than that guppie in your fishbowl. Paddlefish can grow up to 5 feet long and nearly 200 pounds

When we first saw the Paddlefish we were convinced it was an ocean-going fish. We later learned that they are native to the Ohio River and many other inland rivers, although designated endangered in some areas. Indeed, it is illegal to harvest Paddlefish in Ohio waters, but still legal to snag them  (in season) from the shore in Kentucky. There is a pretty cool video on Youtube demonstrating snagging paddlefish near the Meldahl Dam upriver from Cincinnati.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I9LbtUN98A

The large nose makes this fish incredibly striking. The primary diet of the Paddlefish is zooplankton. The large paddle-shaped snout is believed to be the tool used to detect the plankton in the water.

As noted above, the population of paddlefish has declined. Both overfishing and environmental changes have led to the decline. For instance, the placement of dams on the river have cutoff the ability of paddlefish to hit spawning areas. Illegal overfishing is also a problem. The roe of the paddlefish is highly sought after as caviar and has led to part of the overfishing phenomenon. Just a few years ago, the officers of a Kentucky caviar company were indicted for poaching paddlefish in Ohio. http://www.brokeandbroker.com/801/paddlefish-kentucky-ohio-kinder-indictment/

Our Ohio River is such an amazing place. Remember to "Get Outside and Play." There is so much more out there then meets the eye.......

The Monster Moved.....

The Village of New Richmond has located one of the largest river monsters in the history of the Ohio River, to wit: the LogNess Monster. The monster was spotted this spring and provided a "dress up" in early summer.

 During the recent rise of the river , the concern was that the LogNess Monster was going to escape down river. While she didn't escape, she certainly moved further downriver from Skippers Marina towards the Green Kayak Market and Front Street Cafe.

This fun creation has received press on a national level and has brought wonderful attention to the Ohio River and the Village.....Keep up the crazy and fun ideas all you folks in New Richmond and other river cites


http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/38838

http://us.topnewstoday.org/us/article/6802450/

He's A Wild Animal Isn't He????

Here we go again with another round of infamy for Jacob the Peacock. You may recall from an earlier post that Jacob the Peacock is the town mascot of New Richmond on the Ohio. He has wandered the Village for years interacting with literally thousands of people. Unfortunately, it appears that he has also pecked at some children who apparently got too close for Jacob's comfort. Fortunately, we have been told that none of the kids were permanently injured (although stitches were required with some) and that's important. That said, the solution is not to create a mob to harm the bird....

Jacob has his own Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-New-Richmond-Peacock/  Both sides of the argument seem to make valid points, but we must confess that many of the valid points are lost when the authors resort to graphic language and mean-spirited commentary. Making fun of the Village of New Richmond (and all of its residents), wishing Jacob shot or otherwise killed, in no way advance the point that these folks are trying to make. Instead, it is easy to write-off  mean-spirited, heartless comments, as coming from unhappy folks looking for attention and trouble.

We have been spending a significant amount of time down in the Village and find, on average, the folks in the Village are friendly and kind hearted. We have never run into a problem with Jacob, although we have witnessed (and stopped) several kids from throwing stones, sticks and other stuff at Jacob and other animals. However, as noted, most of the kids and adults we have met in New Richmond (and other little river cities along the Ohio River) are wonderful. We wish the Village continued success in its efforts to become a recreational, music and food outlet for Southwest Ohio. We hope the mean-spirited rhetoric stops. If you don't like New Richmond, other river Villages or the Ohio River, then simply move inland.......

Our words of advice: "Get Outside And Play--But Leave The Wild Animals Alone!" Whether it's Jacob, ducks, geese, ground hogs or other wildlife, please admire them from afar.......

The River Falls And The River Rises.....

So what's with weather? This past weekend was pretty much a washout in and around the Ohio River in southern Ohio/northern Kentucky. We cancelled our kayak trip through the Meldahl Dam locks because of safety concerns. Our rule of thumb is to not paddle the Ohio River  downstream when the level at Cincinnati is above 29ft.....Lots of unhappy friends on missing the adventure.

We woke up today to the river level falling. Good news. Early this morning the river was projected down near 29-30 feet by the weekend........The problem is the forecast was revised and now look what's happening......

The Ohio River hitting near 40 feet will, once again, bring pleasure boat and paddling traffic to a standstill and cause flooding. We need to better understand why the river fluctuates so wildly between the dams at Cincinnati, Ohio, yet does not fluctuate in the same manner above the Meldahl dam (Chilo, Ohio) and below the Markland Dam (Switzerland County, Indianna/Warsaw, Kentucky). While we understand the basic "flood control" idea, it seems like Augusta, Kentucky (above the dam) and river cities below the Markland Dam have so little flooding, while New Richmond, Ohio and the California area of Cincinnati are regularly subjected to the ravages of the waters. Help us understand!

River Is Rising This July 4th Weekend...

Well the July 4 holiday has passed here in the States. We headed down to Moscow, Ohio on July 3 and saw some great fireworks. We planned on heading to New Richmond on the Ohio for more fireworks on July 4, but no such luck. The rain has continued to fall and the river continues to rise.

Look at the river level...And it's July!! We had planned to kayak this weekend, but with the river as high as it is, hitting the river does not seem to be a good and safe idea.

While we couldn't paddle in New Richmond, we visited the folks at the Green Kayak and sampled some of the special seafood fare. These folks are amazing. They brought in a special mobile truck to prepare all of the great seafood dishes and, as usual, had great live music.....This town is very cool. They even have the "LogNess Monster" creeping down on the riverside...Let's hope LogNess doesn't escape with the rising river....