By Mary Fairchild At the CASKA gathering last night, held at Chicago’s Jackson Park Yacht Club, I had a chance to catch up with Gary Steinbauer. Gary and I attended some of our first kayaking with the club together in 201l. We’ve both paddled not only Lake Michigan, but the whitewater park in Yorkville which had just opened in 2011. Taking…
Category: Paddle/Hike/Play
Kayaking With Team River Runner on Armed Forces Day
By Mary Fairchild (Craig Esposito [upside down] teaching the bow rescue to a veteran at Menomonee Park, Menomonee Falls, Wi.) I needed to fill out the questionnaire for this event last week when I first saw it on Facebook on the CASKA page which read, “Please help us get two more RSVPs for this event…Adaptive paddling–kayakers wanted.” For…
Who Do You Think You Are: The Ellevens Band
By Mary Fairchild “The Wanted” (original)Youtube, Otto’s Halloween Smash, DeKalb, IL. The Ellevens are a jive blend of blues, rock , beach vibrations, and other good things. Formerly known as Daven Masulis and Company. Photo Credit Dan Dusing Productions: Dan Orlowski, Echo Kaelin, Dan Orlowski, David Fairchild, B.Joeseph Dzwonnik, Daven Masulis, Ryan Kaplan, Aaron Dingess.
Hawaii: Vacationing During the President’s Double Holiday Trip to the Islands
By Mary Fairchild Waikiki Beach, Oahu, 12/30/2012 The Hawaiian Archipelago is the oldest and longest chain of islands in the world. When our family landed on Oahu it was just after sunset so we could not get a good feel for where we were. It was Friday night and the traffic was very heavy as…
Wisconsin’s Glacial Mounds
By Mary Fairchild Known as the “Driftless Area,” southwestern Wisconsin escaped glaciation. A low plateau deeply cut by stream valleys, it is an old landscape whose rougher surface contrasts with ice-formed topography. Astellated buttes, spires, and pinnacles were sculpted by Glacial Lake Wisconsin breaking on sandstone outliers of the Driftless Area. This is a view…
February: Falling Back in Love With Sea Kayaking
By Mary Fairchild In water, any rescue takes a lot more time and energy than an elegant roll. A reliable roll is one that can be done when not expected. Rough water, or skookumchuck, can psychologically make things difficult. Find ways to practice in all conditions. A roll will help you get more proficient at…