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Welcome. We've had high water and a cool spell so far in May, but we managed to get our first tour in Sunday, May 18. It was real nice. Saw a little beaver "kit" sitting on a fallen tree along the west bank and we had swallows zooming around the kayaks, too. They are always fun to watch. The black locust trees are in full bloom! If you are planning a vacation or even a short business trip in the north central part of West Virginia and think you'd like a guided historic/nature kayak tour on the Monongahela River near Morgantown, the home of West Virginia University, read on. This beautiful part of the river is only about 1.5 hours from Pittsburgh, Pa., so it makes a great one-day get-a-way. Season begins in May -ends around the last of October. Sorry: No tours from May 29-June 7.
My tours are "flatwater" kayaking experiences on the Upper Monongahela Water Trial, which means they are fun for all ages. Tours are approximately 1.5 hours long on the peaceful river near the origins of the Monongahela, a river rich in beauty and history. My tours leave the Morgantown Wharf District behind the Boathouse Bistro and provide a relaxing, magical trip back in time. Learn about the early settlers' lives, their struggles to survive in a hostile world; navigation on what was known as "the western waters," how Robert Fulton's invention, launched on the Monongahela in 1812, shaped the nation's character for the next 50 years; and the legacy of the industrial era in West Virginia -- the years when coal was king, when coal wars and mine disasters formed the state's character and heritage. Folklore is also a feature of my tours. Appalachia is rich with tales of the people and their lives - and sometimes their deaths. As it happens, my tour focuses on the latter with ghost stories from the river's past. I provide stable recreation kayaks that are easy to use even for the beginner, and I begin my tours with an orientation and introduction to kayaking. The current is slow and gentle. All equipment is included.
Why is it "Magic?"
Well, you'll just have to see a sunset with me. We'll all just sit very
quietly in our kayaks, floating on the Monongahela's surface, watching
the reflections in the old river's surface (sometimes, on a calm day,
it's like a huge mirror) hearing, perhaps, the chatter of the
kingfisher, or the whistle of the train in the distance. Maybe a bass
will leap out of the water after a mayfly. In an instant, the
mirror breaks and a thousand shards of water explode, golden exuberant
individuals, then fall back and become the river again, which flows on, as if the attack had never happened.
It was a moment in time, a flash in the setting sun, a magical
experience to remember if you see it. We go to movies to see great
things that represent reality and hear sounds that are so loud as to be
real. But sometimes when we are in a real place, and the train
blows its whistle, we fail to hear it, or even see the sun set. Read some customer
testimonials.
Weekdays - Blue Heron Sunset tour. It
begins at about 5:30 p.m. $30 per person, kids under 12 1/2 price with
parent. Students: $25; Maximum: 12 persons Minimum: 4 persons
So,
contact me, and let's arrange for your
adventure Related Links: |
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