Well, I have lived in Texas all my life and have been working on videoing canoe trips on Texas rivers. I work in oil and gas. I just found out there is a real possibility that my company is moving me to Alaska. I am super excited about the paddling opportunities up there, but I might have the change the name of my youtube channel.
Texas River Runners - YouTube
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You are in for some shocks on many levels.
Find some local people to teach you the ropes.
Be especially careful of cold water, remoteness, bears and sweepers.
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Yes, it will definitely be different from Texas. I will have to completely change the way I pack. Looking forward to the adventure though.
Depends where you are going in Alaska?
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You have to completely change the way you think about the outdoors and rivers.
Turns out I won’t be going after all. They chose someone else for the job. I guess I can keep doing the Texas River Runner thing! Yee-haw!
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Say hi to Paris for me. Enjoy.
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I am guessing that is a reverence to my cooking video? More escargot?
I believe he is referencing Paris, the world famous dog! See posts here by Chuck Von Yamashita.
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I had escargot in the Hague. I thought it was like chewing pencil erasers.
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String, I agree. Even BBQ sauce didnt help much.
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TxRiver…,
I did it the other way around. I spent a couple of decades or so in Alaska, and am proud to say i now live in Tx. Life is good here and the politics, at least for now, are about right.
And every time i went overseas i was so glad to get home to some good BBQ.
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I spent a decade in Texas and am happy to be home to SC. Enjoyed central Tx, Houston not so much but that’s where the job was.
String,
I understand. Spent a decade in Houston when i wasn’t oversees. Didn’t care much for the place. I liked the Cajun food & BBQ. Hard to make friends as a lot of folks were, like me, there for the oil money. Am currently at the opposite end of the State. Much better.
That’s why we were there. I was hired during the insane expansion and laid off in 1986.
We canoed Lake Houston, the San Jacinto , and Lake Livingston.
I built my first kayak there, a Folbot Super.
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Yup, & did all the rivers between the Columbia & Lake Charles, La. A lot of them with the Houston Canoe Club. A good group of folks. One fellow and his wife were avid canoeists and members of the lo al Sierra Club. He would lead trips and always had a facinating story or 2 on the history & ecology of the river we were on. And this at rest stops and lunch over a period of years now gone by. I do miss that.
Maybe we can get together at the Spring Rendendez on the Buffalo River (maybe if there’s enough water). Got some Floboat tails to tell about the Chakachatna River in Alaska. (& We’re almost back on topic).
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You are probably talking about Mr. Dodds. I have not canoed with them, but we’ve chatted a number of times and he always invites me on his trips. But they do a lot of day trips and I like to camp. I was born and raised in SE Texas, though I have literally been to every continent except Antartica as an engineer in O&G. I work on the west side of Houston (Energy Corridor), but I live as far away as I can and still reasonably drive to work. Actually, quite close to the Brazos. I did this video on the Brazos near my house. This is one of the few that I did not camp on. Snakes, Dung Beetles, & Graffiti on the Brazos River - YouTube
Nice Utube on the Brazos. I did a portion of the Brazos with Mary *^$%#&ski & her indian boyfriend/husband (a fine fellow) and some other HCC folks. I got a loaner of a Wenonah Rendezvous in Royalex thst Mary was selling. We had your Utube headwinds. This canoe only wanted to be sideways to the wind. I did all the tricks to keep it straight, no luck. The worst handling canoe I’ve ever been in. I understand the Kevlar version of this boat had some dedign changes, and handled well.
Like yourself, I prefer to camp, do a little fishing, & enjoy the trip & natural world at my leisure. I had enough “emergencies” in the oil patch to make me appreciate a more leisurely life although the challanges and resultant solutions were satisfying when they turned out well.
Like your self, i was (am) an engineer. Having a dislike and lack of interest in office politics, I spent as much time as possible in the field, and i do miss the people and discipline of the patch and all that went with it.
Was scheduled to paddle the Buffalo for 5-6 days (Ponka to Gilbert) this week but lack of water, not unusual for that stream, precluded that trip at this time. Maybe later.
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Thanks. I am trying to build a channel out of it. Long way to go. My Minnesota 3 tracks extremely well in the wind. It would have done better if I had some load in it though. With hardly any load it sat too high on the water and the wind really slowed us down. I hope you get your Buffalo trip in. Beautiful place.
I’m not sure anybody enjoys Houston. It’s generally a place you tolerate.