I've paddled around many lakes and rivers in the 20 odd years of camping I've been doing with my family. I love canoeing, and exploring different waterways. Although my daughter detests canoeing, which we found out very early in our camping adventures (lots of tears were shed in those days), my son is enthusiastic about it as my husband and I. He did a long canoe trip this summer with a couple of friends with numerous portages. I was impressed by how far they went! He has his own kayak, but after he bought a beautiful paddle this summer, he's anxious to try more canoeing (kayaks are a pain to portage since you can't carry them over your head).
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| My husband bought me my first paddle years ago ... cherry by "Red Tail Paddle Company" |
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| Another paddle given to me by my husband by "Grey Owl Paddles" |
While camping this summer, we stopped in at Algonquin Outfitters to check out canoes and kayaks (window shopping only), and to browse their amazing store. This is where my son bought his own paddle with his hard-earned money.
As we were leaving the store we noticed a stack of unfinished canoe paddles and a clerk came up and explained that the paddles were for a contest in celebration of Tom Thomson's death 100 years ago next summer. You buy the paddle and enter the contest for $25. Then you decorate the paddle any way you choose. Well, that sounded right up my alley! The best part is you have until next summer to complete the paddle :) Thank goodness because I have a tough time deciding on an idea. This is my paddle. It's pine and rather small, but I have been scribbling down all kinds of ideas for it since we came home.
If you are interested in the contest yourself, you can check out the details here. After you submit your paddle, it will be (hopefully) auctioned off next September with the proceeds going to a couple of art centres (details included in the link). Sounds like fun right? I've got a "Canoe Paddles" board on Pinterest where I'm collecting various images for inspiration. There's not a whole lot out there, but I've found a few. This photo was sent to me by Algonquin Outfitters. We saw the Tom Thomson paddle (third from the right) in their Huntsville store. Looks like the competition will be tight!
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| Algonquin Outfitters |
Thanks for stopping by!
Wendy
