2012 April - Dallas Downriver Club

Mulberry Rapids !
In this Issue
Upcoming Eventspg 2
Message from DDRC president
pg 3
A Note from Editor
pg 4
Donations Made by club
pg 7
Tick removalpg 8
pg 9
pg 5
South Llano
Notes from Last Meeting
by Sam Sloan
by Carolee Doty
pg 10
So you want to eat good
pg 7
Photo tips by Dale Harris
pg 11
Mulberry by Sam Sloan
pg 12
News and updates
Up Coming Events
May 12th, The Texas Paddlesports Show
Oak Grove Park at Grapevine Lake is the site of the 1st Texas Paddle Sports event. We could
have called it a Kayak Show, or a Paddleboard Show, but we wanted to include it all, Kayaks,
Canoes, Paddleboards . The show will open Saturday May 12th at 9am and run till 4pm.
Dozens of boats, paddle boards and paddles.
May 17th, Monthly Meeting
Bathhouse Cultural Center
Meetings begin at 7:00 PM (as always), but you can arrive as early as you like. This will be an
informal meeting with no business discussion. Bring boats and gear to paddle the lake, and
bring something to share in the potluck dinner. Bring lawn chairs, insect repellent, personal
beverages and other items that you might want for an evening by the lake.
May 19th, Urban Paddle
We will meet at Trinity Park at around 9:30 am and then we will set off down the river
and make the tour of downtown Fort Worth. After a couple of hours paddling, we will
return to the park to have our picnic
May 26th to 28th, Memorial Weekend Trip
Sabine River below Toledo Bend
This is a flatwater paddle down the Lower Sabine River in far southeast Texas. Here
the river flows out of Toledo Bend Reservoir to the Gulf of Mexico. It travels through
the thick piney woods that define the Texas/Louisiana border.
2
Monthly Message from the Club
President
This year, so far, we’ve had eight trips. A couple of Urban Paddles,
and a couple of river clean-ups. We’ve had a trip almost every two weeks. I’m glad to be part of such an active canoe club. I talked to several club
members over the last couple of years who mentioned that one of the
reason they joined the Dallas Down River Club because we are very active.
We only have a couple of trips left before we hit the hot part of the
year. We are going to the lower Sabine River for Memorial Day and planning a trip for the Lower Mountain
Fork for June 9th. As a club we haven’t been to the lower Sabine in a few years, so that should be fun.
My friends and family from up north enjoy calling me in July and August and ask what’s the weather
like in Dallas with a slight chuckle in their voice. I answer “hot” but like everyone else we have our 2-3
months of bad weather – just for us it June, July, and August. Canoeing, kayaking, and golfing are open all
year in Texas.
The ever famous “Moonlight Floats” will start up in June with a second one in July. Both will be at
Trinity Park in Fort worth. It’s fun to get out at night and paddle around Fort Worth. We’ll get the details on
the WEB site soon.
On a side note: please be aware that our DDRC Monthly meeting for May 17th is at Bathhouse at
White Rock Lake at 7Ppm. Bring a picnic dinner and your boat.
Discover Kayak is hosting a Texas Paddle Sports Show on May 12th. DDRC is planning on have a
table at the show and would like a couple of volunteers to help man the tables and displays. I’d like to show
a copy of our newsletter on a bulletin board as well as some of our paddling pictures. We have 3-4 paddling
clubs around Dallas but ours is the only one that is really into tripping – so I’d like our pictures and displays
to show that. Let me know if you would like to represent DDRC at this
show – it should only take a couple of hours of your time and it would
be a great way to help the club.
Regards,
Dale Harris, President, DDRC
dale_harris@sbcglobal.net , C: 972-814-2633
See you on the water soon!
3
A Note from the Editor
-
Editors Notes: by Sam Sloan
This year we have been seeing a increase in the number of trips led
by people new to leading trips. This is great, as it offers opportunities
that we might not have otherwise. I would tell people if they have a
particular river or such that they want to paddle - to plan out a trip, and
run it by the board.
We have also more photos and videos being taken, as more people
invest in waterproof cameras. I say that’s great, but if you’re sending it
in for the newsletter, please edit them down to three
or four of your best photos per trip before sending in.
It just saves us a lot of time. Also, it helps to have the
pictures taken at their highest resolution.
You know you are kayaking or canoeing when you can’t go over a bridge without
looking for water under it.
- Anonymous
15% off gear coupon code for online check out. bce-1000
4
Ne w s a n d Up d a t e s
from TPWD
State Game Wardens Stress Boater Education in Water Safety
AUSTIN – With many Texas lakes holding more water than they did this time last year, Texas Parks and Wildlife
game wardens are anticipating a busy boating season. And while they will be doing everything they can to
make it a safe one, wardens could use a little help from boaters.
“Last year we had 32 boating fatalities across the state,” said Jeff Parrish, assistant chief for marine law
enforcement. “Tragic as that number is, we can learn something from statistics. Of those 32 deaths, all but
five were of people not wearing a personal flotation device. That really underscores the vital importance of
wearing a life jacket.”
State law requires that a personal flotation device be available for each occupant of a boat, but only those
under 13 years of age are mandated by the law to wear one while the boat or paddle craft is underway or
drifting.
“The numbers speak for themselves,” Parrish continued. “Wear a life jacket and your chances of surviving a life
threatening event on the water increases 10 fold.”
While the life jacket requirement is not new, the last session of the legislature did make it mandatory that all
persons born on or after Sept. 1, 1993 obtain a boater education certificate before they can legally operate
a vessel with a rating of more than 15 horsepower. Anyone supervising the operation of a vessel by another
must be exempt from the boater ed requirement (born before 1993) or have a boater ed certificate.
Six of the boating deaths in 2011 were alcohol-related, underscoring the importance of not drinking while
operating a boat.
“If you want to drink when you’re out on the water, do so responsibly or have a designed operator,” Parrish
said. “Anyone our wardens find operating a boat while intoxicated will be going to jail.”
In addition to the 32 boating fatalities in 2011 (up four from 2011), Texas saw 229 boating accidents that
resulted in 121 injuries. State game wardens and other marine enforcement officers made 259 BWI arrests and
issued 305 citations for no life jacket.
“Anyone stumped on a gift idea for a high school graduate could see that they get signed up for a boater ed
class,” Parrish said. “That’s a gift that could end up saving a life.”
5
Other than having the required boater education course, wearing a life jacket and not boating while
intoxicated, Parrish said it’s a good idea to make sure someone knows where you plan on operating a boat
and when you expect to return as well as paying close attention to weather reports.
“Getting caught on open water in a storm is not a fun experience,” Parrish said. “If rough weather is anticipated,
it’s best to stay off the water or close to shore.”
The online boaters’ safety course is offered through www.boat-ed.com/tx/ for $20. Boaters with the online
course certificate may receive a discounted rate from their boating insurance provider.
S
o you want to eat good?
Creole Beans and Rice Dutch Oven Recipe
ingredients for 10” - adjust according for smaller sizes
Heat oil in D.O. at 325 degrees.
Add celery, onion, peppers.
Cook until tender, about 8 minutes.
Add all ingredients and mix well.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat.
Cover and simmer until rice is cooked, about 20
minutes.
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 cup chopped celery
1 chopped onion
1 small chopped red bell pepper
2 Jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
16 oz can tomato sauce
15 oz can red beans
15 oz can black beans
14 oz can vegetable broth
1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
1/2 tsp hot red pepper sauce
As with all new dishes to you, it’s best to try this at home before you just go for it out in the field
Classified Ads --- Club members can list items for sale here. Please keep them related to
paddle and camping gear. Send in your pictures, prices and a
a few words about the items for sale. Get them into me by the
second Friday of the month.
6
Our Donations:
For the Love of the Lake:
For the Love of the Lake
PMB 281, 381 Casa Linda Plaza
Dallas, TX 75218
For Brazos River & Associated Bay & Estuary – Bay and Basin
Stakeholder Committee the check goes to West Central Texas
Council of Governments” or “WCTCOG
WCTCOG
3702 Loop 322
Abilene, TX 79602
Motions to amend DDRC bylaws:
# 1 - L i mi t cl u b o f f icer ter m s to 3 co n s ec utive yea r s fo r th e s a m e po si ti on.
( Th e p re v i o u s yea r s ta xes wo u l d s til l be pa id by th e prev io us trea s urer)
Th e te r m li mi ts wo u l d be im p o r ta nt fo r th e s a m e rea s o n s a s a ny gover ni ng
body. G i ve mo re p eo pl e a c ha nce to pa r tic ipate a n d be m o re dem o c rati c. I t
cou ld als o woul d hel p br ing in new idea s a n d en ergy.
# 2 - M ove e le c tio ns ba c k to Febr ua r y w ith n o m in atio n s in Ja n ua r y a nd
Fe bruar y.
M os t p e op l e m a k e t heir yea r l y pl a n s in Ja n ua r y. N ew yea r -n ew peo ple.
Marilyn Scholl
Massage Therapy
214-208-3528
contact Marilyn via email
7
Tick Removal...........
A nur s e d i sc o v e r e d a sa fe, eas y way t o r em o v e t icks where they
auto m a t ic al l y w i t hd r a w t h em s elv es wh en yo u fo llo w h er si mple
in s tr uc t ions . R e a d t hi s o n e a s i t co u ld s av e yo u fr o m s o m e m ajo r p roblems.
S p r i ng is he r e a n d t he t i cks will s o o n be s h o wing t h eir h ead s. H ere
is a g ood w ay t o g e t t he m o f f yo u , yo u r ch ildren, and yo u r pet s . Gi ve i t a
try. Pl e a s e f o r w a r d t o a n yo n e wit h ch ildr en, h u nt ers o r do gs ; or anyone
who e ve r s t e p s o u t si d e i n su m m er . A Sch o o l Nu rs e h as wr it t en the i nf o
be lo w --g ood en o u g h t o sha r e --and it really wo r ks .
I h a d a p e d i a t r i c i a n t e ll m e wh at s h e believ es is t h e best way to
remove a t i c k . Thi s i s g r e a t b ecau s e it wo r ks in t h o s e places w here i t’s
s omet im e s di f f i c u lt t o g e t t o w it h t weez er s : bet ween t o es , in t he mi d d le
of a h e ad f ull o f d a r k ha i r , et c. A pply a glo b o f liq u id s o ap t o a cotton
ball. Cove r t h e t i c k w i t h t h e s o ap-s o aked co t t o n ball and s wab i t for a
fe w se c onds ( 15 -2 0 ) ; t h e t i c k will co m e o u t o n it s o wn and be stuck to
the c ot t on ba ll w he n yo u li f t it away. T h is t ech niq u e h as wo rk ed every
time I’ ve u s e d i t ( a n d t h a t w a s fr eq u ent ly), and it ’ s m u ch les s traumati c
for t h e p a t ie n t a n d e a si e r f o r m e. U nles s s o m eo ne is aller gic to soap, I
c an’t s e e t h at t h i s w o u ld b e d am aging in any way. I ev en h ad m y d octor’s
wife c al l m e f o r a d v i c e b e c a us e s h e h ad o ne s t u ck t o h er back and she
c ouldn’ t r e ac h i t w i t h t w e e ze rs . Sh e u s ed t h is m et h o d and im med i ately
c alle d m e ba c k t o sa y, “I t w o rked! ”
Ple as e p as s o n . Ev e r yo n e n e e d s t h is h elpfu l h int .
30% off printing and scanning services to
DDRC members
8
South Llano River Trip
By Sam Sloan
Fr i d ay af ter n o o n ever yo n e began ar r iving at t he
S outh L l an o St ate Pa r k , a f ter th ei r sce nic d r ive t hr u t he
h i l l co u nt r y. We h a d a po t l u ck di n n e r wit h all k ind s of
gre at d is h e s. We a l so en joyed a ca mp fire as t he b ur n
ba n h ad b e e n l i f ted. We co u l d see se veral d eer grazing
n e a r by, as we e n joyed o u r fea st.
S at u rd ay mo r n i n g we set o u t at 8: 30 for our shut t le
a nd we re j o i n e d by t wo members o f the Waco p ad d ling c lub. The weat her was coo l s t a r t i n g
of f, bu t war m e d u p qu i ck l y w i th th e s un. The water was low as usual. They had s o me ra i n
th i s winte r, b u t n o t en o u gh to o f fset t he d rought. There was st ill enough to navi g ate, a n d
a fe w l it t l e rap i d s a n d dro ps to ma ke it fun. We c am e to t he conc lusion t hat t h e di s t a n ce
bet wee n 2 n d cro s si n g a n d th e pa r k i s c loser to 13 mi. , rat her t han t he 11. 6 m i . t h e b o o k
“ R i ve r s an d R ap ids” says.
We h ad a co u pl e o f f l i ps i nto th e water, b ut no d amage d one. The scener y was b e a u t i fu l
wi t h e ve r y t h in g green , a n d th e w i l d flower s and b ut ter flies ever y where. S at urday n i g ht
som e o f u s s t ayed to rest a n d eat at c amp, while ot her s went into Junc t ion for Tex- M ex at
L a Fa m i l i a’s re s t a u ra nt.
S u n d ay m a ny deci ded to pa ddl e t he 4 mi. sec t ion from t he p ar k d own to fl at ro c k ,
before p ack in g u p a n d h ea di n g h o me.
9
What You Missed at the Last Meeting ?
DALLAS DOWN RIVER CLUB
Club Meeting
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Roma’s Restaurant, Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX
Dale Harris started the April meeting at 7pm with introductions of new members Steve and Ginny White and
returning member, Harry Moore. Bryan Jackson’s video of the Mulberry River was playing as he described the
Easter trip to Arkansas. The 60 mile shuttle from Campbell’s Cemetery to Mill Creek proved worthwhile, as there
were many great wave trains, etc., on the 13 mile, 4 hour paddle. A giant campfire was built over what was later
found to be, natural gas pipeline!
Dale gave a report on the Sabine River fishing trip. Although the river was 7’-10’ higher with fewer sandy beaches,
two good campsites were found. Unfortunately, the sand bass run had already come and gone. But fourteen
good-sized catfish were caught for the fish fry Saturday night. Dale also reported that the Brazos River cleanup
above Glen Rose was a pleasant trip with high water and not too much trash. Carolee Doty reported on a beautiful
overnight trip down the Upper Brazos River from the Possum Kingdom Dam down to Rochelle’s Canoe rental.
With the dam releasing 100 cfs daily and the feeder creeks full of recent rainwater, there was water enough to
paddle without getting out! Lastly, Tom Taylor reported taking three ‘historic’ paddles on the Paluxy River this
spring during which the river had enough water to paddle 23 miles down to the Glen Rose city park! Upcoming
trips included the South Llano April 20-22nd, Ray Roberts urban paddle April 28th, Medina River cleanup May
5-6th, urban paddle on the Trinity River in Fort Worth May 19th, the Lower Sabine May 26-29th (Memorial Day), and
the Lower Mountain Fork on June 9-10th.
Raffles bring part of our income, and Randy Stovall has taken over as raffle chairman from Marilyn Scholl. As the
DDRC is non-profit, we operate by selling advertisement space for our web page, newsletter and TRC T-shirts.
Costs are $125 for cash or check for one year and $150 for goods and services. We are encouraged to help by
getting sponsors if we can. Next, Eric Neilsen updated us on the May 4th litter survey and water testing being done
at White Rock Creek and California Crossing. The ‘stream team’ has been doing water testing at Combs Creek but
the project is ‘stuck in the mud’ while the City of Dallas finds a new site free of power lines and construction mud.
Club tests have been done at the Santa Fe Trail at Cedar Creek and at Beckley and I-30 in Kessler Park.
Lastly, the DDRC will be participating in the Texas paddle Sports Show at Lake Grapevine on May 12th. As the DFW
Paddlers highlight lake kayaking and the Texas River Runners paddle lots of whitewater, we will spotlight our trips
which include camping, some fishing and gourmet potluck meals, making us different and FUN! We will have
a bulletin board with camping photos, newsletter, banner, etc. Volunteers to ‘man’ our table are needed. The
meeting ended with a raffle…which always brings smiles.
Respectfully submitted,
Carolee Doty, Secretary
10
Precious moments in time
by Dale Harris
This is basically the definition of a photography as most family moments take place of club trips.
We take pictures to capture “the moment” so we can reflect on it later or perhaps share it with friends or
family. At the time we might think this picture is important – but what happens next does not correlate
to the importance of the moment.
We take this picture and upload it to our PC and send it out. We’re done! Well not exactly; we
are not putting the focus on pictures that they deser ve. Remember they are precious moments in time.
Are they really precious? When watching the evening news we see from time to time a family has lost
everything due to fire, flood, severe storm, etc. One of their first comments is either they saved their
pictures or sadly they didn’t. It is then the realization hits the importance of these precious moments.
So we habitually store our pictures on a PC – which the manufacturer tells has a life expectancy
of a few years at best. We move them to a director y called pictures without storing in a folder, then we
forget where we put or the PC finally dies and we lose them.
That’s not all we do to shoot ourselves in the foot regarding photographs. We rarely focus on our
equipment, cleaning the lenses, checking our settings, etc. We often set our digital cameras to take low
quality pictures to save memory. Let me restate that a different way, we record precious memories in
low quality to save memory which is now pennies per megabyte – does that make sense? Ok I’ve seen
your pictures – there are a lot of folks saving memor y out there. <grin>
Also the vast majority of us (me included) take a picture and assume the digital camera is fully
automatic and handles everything for us. It doesn’t. We should still used editing tools to correct our
pictures( color or hue), or perhaps crop out the thumbnail or finger tip in the corner of your photo.
So our resident photography expert gave me some pointers that I didn’t know about. Thank you
Eric. And I’ve added a couple more I read about or fit under common sense.
1) Check your equipment make sure it is set up right (yes get out the book) And set the date and
time. Clean the lens.
2) Use a high quality setting – period, CF cards are not that expensive
3) Calibrate your pictures to the environment and the atmosphere of the day. This is simply taking a
picture of a test card called a WhiBal ( White Balance). This test card fits into your pocket and can
be purchased at a photography store.
4) Edit pictures –yes you’ll have to purchase software, like Photoshop Essentials, (~$80) to fine tune
your pictures and get rid of the finger tip in the corner of your picture.
5) Store your pictures on a CD, DVD, or USB drive in addition not on your PC. Put this store device in
a fire proof safe – even a small one. Once your digital pictures are gone – they ’re gone!!!!
or if you really want some help, buy Eric a beer or two (dinner too) and he’ll tell you everything
you need to know.
11
A Short Recap of the Mulberry
By Sam Sloan
Th e t r i p wa s l ed by
Br yan J ack s o n a nd the
weathe r was g o o d, exce pt for a fe w shower s
S aturd ay n i g ht a f ter we
got b ack to c a m p. The
dr i vi n g t i me wa s o nl y
5.5 h ou rs ; n o t ba d fo r
dr i vi n g to Ar k a nsa s. The
water le ve l, t ho u g h no t
as good as las t yea r, wa s
e n ou gh fo r s o m e f u n
rapi d s, e s p e ci a l l y o n the
lowe r p ar t bel ow the
ce mete r y t ak e o u t. The
gau ge at Tu r n e r b end wa s rea d ing 3f t.
O n t h e s e co nd d ay t here wa s o n e ra pid th at h a d a ro c k w ith Br yan and
S a m’s n ame on it. B r ya n went sw i m m in g, a n d I bus ted th e bow s k id p late on my
can oe af te r p low ing into it hea d o n . I th o ught I wa s s tuc k fo r a m in ute, but was
able to s li d e o f f a nd recover.
B y rd ’s cam p gro u nd wa s p rett y, if yo u didn’t m in d th e h ow l in g yahoos af ter dar k . Th e ca m pgro u nd m a na g em ent did s ay s o m eth in g to th e ya h oos, and i t
wa s quiet th e n ex t eveni ng.
N ex t tim e we m ight go wi th
th e N atio n a l pa r k near by
in s tea d.
We go t t wo g ood d ays
o f w h ite water in, and our
us ua l po tl uc k feast on Fr i day n ight. I h a d a great ti me
mys el f, a n d th in k just d oi ng
th e M ul ber r y is more prac tic a l th a n tr y in g to d o the
Big Pin ey a l s o. I t cer tai nly
c ut dow n o n the d r i vi ng
a n d s h uttl e tim e.
12
President
Dale Harris
Newsletter Editor
Sam Sloan
Web Master
John Kuhlenschmidt
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer / Roster
Trip Coordinator
Librarian
Membership/
Equipment
Eric Neilsen
Carolee Doty
Dale Harris
Bryan Jackson
Sam Sloan
Earl Atnip
Steve Crowe
Newsletter Ad Rates
Type of Ad Per Insertion Business Cards (member) 5.00 Business Cards (non-members) 12.50 1/4 Page display 20.00 1/3 Page display 30.00 1/2 Page display 35.00 Full Page display 50.00 Bryan Jackson
Urban Paddles
Raffles
Randy Stovall
Bryan Jackson
Environmental
Dale Harris
N E W
S L E T T E R
O F
T H E
Tom Taylor
D A L L A S
D O W
N R IV E R
C L U B —
V IS IT
DDRC Officers &
STOCK UP AND SHIP OUT!
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FINE PRINT - The DDRC Current News is published bi
monthly by the Dallas Down river Club and is provided to its
members either by First Class postage or by email. Opinions
expressed herein are those of the individual authors and may
or may not reflect the opinion of the club or its officers.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION of articles, announcements,
events, trips, etc. is the 1st Thursday of the month. It is on a
come first served basis therefore sooner is better.
DDRC BOARD MEETINGS are held every second Tuesday of
the month - 7:00pm @ Dale Harris’ house in Richardson or
Romas . All members are welcome to attend to learn more
about club business.
?
you purchase your boat.
LIBRARIAN
Steve Crowe
Not sure
MEMBERSHIP/EQUIPMENT
what boat
you want?
Come by
our rental
department
and take one
out for the
weekend.
Bryan Jackson
4515 LBJ Freeway, Farmers Branch, TX 972 490-5989
The Official Newsletter
of the
Dallas Down River Club
PO Box 820246
Dallas, TX 75382
Next DDRC
Meeting
May 17 th,
7:00 PM
White Rock Lake
Bath House
postage