The boys and I picked the wrong day to canoe on the St. Croix River. I envisioned a leisurely paddle with the boys catching a couple of smallmouth bass and all of us enjoying a picnic lunch along the way. The gusty winds (better than 20 mph) that blew upstream made the 7 mile trip a hard paddle. There was no time to sit back and let the current take us; we had to paddle or get blown sideways. Jeffrey and Andrew split the first hour of paddling, but Andrew's arm was still bothering him. Over the second hour of the trip, when the wind really picked up, Jeffrey was a beast paddler, really pushing himself. We'll both be sore tomorrow.
Though canoes can hold more, I am constantly amazed that anyone can favor them over kayaks which are so much more stable and easy to handle, especially in windy conditions.
While we were canoeing, Elizabeth was rock climbing with a group from Vertical Endeavors. The pictures are of her doing an "easy" climb, one that Andrew also made earlier this summer during his rock climbing camp. I'm glad that the 3 kids didn't get my fear of heights; I still get nervous when they clamber around the rocks.
