Yesterday we decided to take a canoe trip down the Jordan River. We drove south from Charlevoix for about twenty minutes and hired a double canoe at East Jordan for $42.00 for three hours. We dropped our car off at our final destination point and then the hire company drove us to our starting point at Graves Crossing Road. Our driver was a very friendly guy who had the distinction of only having one hand. It is an odd feeling to shake hands with a man with no hand.
It was a four mile journey and it took the whole three hours. We had one short break where we went ashore and had a sandwich for lunch. Otherwise it was paddling sometimes slowly and sometimes fast down the river. There were curly bends and small rapids which took us by surprise. There were lots of submerged tree trunks under the water which might have proved hazardous. Tom was constantly barking orders. Some of which occasionally made sense. We were frequently attacked by horseflies. Thank heavens for the toxic insect repellant called Deep Woods which I had intelligently bought along. The can boasted that it gave long lasting protection from mosquitoes, ticks, biting flies, gnats and chiggers. Mercifully we didn't meet up with any chiggers and the spray did manage to keep the horseflies slightly at bay.
Vivid blue dragonflies danced around in the sun as we paddled down the mysterious green river. What was around the next bend? Sometimes we came upon families with rubber rings, kayaks and canoes and other times we were alone in the silent woods. Cooling breezes were a welcome change from the increasingly hot sun. My shoulders were beginning to ache and I was developing blisters on my hands.
And then we arrived! Three hours was the perfect trip for us. Not too short and not too long. Just perfect!
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