Inflatable Kayak Blog

(Candace Clayton is an author who’s written novels, poetry and other short stories. She was kind enough to write this fictional adventure series specifically for the Inflatable Kayak Blog about ‘The Traveling Man’, a kayaker who tells us tales about his youthful adventures with his buddies on the rivers where he grew up. We hope you are enjoying it!)

When last we met, we heard the tale of how The Traveling Man and his friend, John, rescued a young woman who had been turned into a snake because of her selfish ways. Let’s rejoin our Adventurous Duo and see where their travels take them next ….

Hello Friends!  Don’t’cha  just love this time of year? There is something about the Holiday Season that makes my heart swell with joy. Ain’t nothing I like better than seeing the happy faces of children waiting on that certain someone to bring them their heart’s desires.

This time of year was made for children. Why, it’s downright magical.  The lights, the trees, the candy, the presents… mostly though it’s the love we show one another. Something we tend to forget other times of the year. We get too busy, but at Christmas, people are more willing to help each other out.

Take my buddy, John, for example. He’s not the brightest or bravest man you’d ever meet, but under all his downright goofiness, he has a heart of pure gold. I remember back to one year we were traveling the rivers in Texas Hill Country. There was this little town, can’t remember the name, but it was full of good, solid folks.

The children in this town had worked all summer and saved all their quarters and dimes, to buy Christmas presents for the little ones in an orphanage a few hours away. John and I were going upstream in our trusty old canoe when we noticed the weather turning nasty. So, we stopped at this little town, got a couple hotel rooms and settled in to wait out the storm.

While we were eating some dinner at the local café, folks were talking about those kids giving up all their hard earned money to provide a happy Christmas morning for those orphans who didn’t have families and ensure their Holiday dreams came true. It was downright touching.

That night while I was cuddled under my quilts, the storm hit. Boy was it a doozy!  At first it was kinda pretty, the ice sparkling in the lights and all. Then, the power went out. Thankfully, this hotel was heated by wood burning stoves. So, we spent the night sleeping peacefully while Mother Nature wreaked havoc with the world outside.

Then next morning we woke up to a world of glittering white. Everything was covered in ice. There were trees and power lines down all over that little town. After a breakfast of cold sandwiches, John and I went  to check out the damage and lend a hand where needed.

We carefully stepped out onto the porch.

“Look at that.” John says.

Down in the middle of the street stood a huge crowd of folks.

“Well, let’s go check it out.” I says.

We slowly made our way down the sidewalk. As we got closer, we could hear bits of the conversation.

“Those kids need their Christmas.”

“It’s too dangerous to drive.”

“We can’t let them down, they are counting on us.”

“So who is gonna go then?”

By the time we had reached the outskirts of the crowd, we’d heard enough to figure out they were talking about the presents for those poor orphans. I thought John was standing next to me. Next thing I know, I hear his voice coming from the middle of the crowd.

“I’ll go.”

I’m standing there in near shock at John’s words. We didn’t have a car or a truck and if we had of, there was no way to get up that iced-over hill. I work my way to the middle of that crowd and face John.

“How you planning to get there?”

“Canoe.”

“What you mean, canoe? The river is too cold and probably frozen up in spots to boot. Ain’t no way you can get there.”

“That there canoe has a flat bottom. Gonna make a big snow shoe to fit it and pull it up that there hill.”

“What? That’s the craziest durn plan I ever…wait… that just might work.” I say. “No way you can pull that loaded down canoe uphill all by yourself.”

“I know.”

That John has always been a man of few words, but he can say a lot with his eyes. Anyhow, he gives me this look, and it pierces right through my heart.

“Oh, all right.” I sigh, “I’ll go with ya.”

(Come back tomorrow for Part 2 of The Traveling Man’s “Travelin’ Christmas” and see how he and John battle the elements in their effort to deliver gifts to the orphans with some ‘help’ from an unlikely source.)

The author, Candace Clayton, lives in Granbury, Texas with her Husband and family, spending as much time in the outdoors as she can.

(New Chapters of “The Traveling Man” series are published on a monthly basis here in the Inflatable Kayak Blog. Check back soon for another chapter or set your computer to receive our RSS feed and you’ll be informed automatically when the next part of the story will be posted.)

(Candace Clayton is an author who’s written novels, poetry and other short stories. She was kind enough to write this fictional adventure series specifically for the Inflatable Kayak Blog about ‘The Traveling Man’, a kayaker who tells us tales about his youthful adventures with his buddies on the rivers where he grew up. We hope you are enjoying it!)

When last we journeyed together with the Traveling man, he and his ever courageous sidekick, John, were being held captive by terror…terror caused by, of all things, a talking snake they discovered near Tomales Bay. Let’s rejoin them and see how they manage to work their way out of the latest of their escapades.

So, there we were, getting ready to run for our lives, when this snake starts making sobbing noises. John and I looked at each other in near shock. I mean, who ever heard tale of a snake that cried. Something weird was going on and we knew we wouldn’t rest till we had gotten to the bottom of it.

“You mean us to believe you’re not a snake?” I asked. “How do you explain the scales and slithery tongue?”

“Scales? Tongue? Are you serious? I am a woman I tell you.”

The snake/woman was starting to get agitated.  We could hear it in her voice, despite her slight lisp.

“Humph…you don’t look like any woman I have ever seen afore.”

“Look”, the snake/woman spit out, “I was here with my family on a picnic. I fell asleep on a rock and when I woke up, they were gone.”

“How long ago was this?” John ventured to ask.

“I don’t know for sure. It’s been quite a while though.”

“Ok, let’s go sit by our campfire while you tell us the whole story.”

I looked at John in frustration. He shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “What else do you expect us to do?” I have to say, it was pretty creepy walking down that trail with a snake dogging our footsteps. Woman or not, she was still a snake.

After we had made our way back to our camping area and rebuilt the fire, John and I looked at the snake/woman.

“I guess I should just spit it out.” She said. “Like I said before, I was here with my family. I was about 12 yrs old at the time. I had wondered off because I was sulking. I had found a baby snake and wanted to take it home with me. My dad said no, the snake needed to stay in its natural habitat. So, I put the snake in my pocket and was planning to sneak it home. Unfortunately for the baby snake, I put it in my back pocket and when I sat down, the snake was squashed. My dad yelled at me for killing the innocent creature.  I wandered up the path and fell asleep on a rock. When I woke up…I couldn’t find my family. I have been here alone all this time.”

“Didn’t your family try to find you?”

“Oh, yes. My dad and mom came back many times. Always calling my name and looking for me, but for some reason, they could never hear me when I answered.”

We sat up for hours talking to this woman turned snake. She was very remorseful for what her selfish actions had done to the baby snake so many years ago. As the night wore on, John and I kept adding firewood to the fire. Each time the light from the camp fire flared up, we could see that the snake/woman’s shadow looked more and more human. Finally, we could stay awake no longer. Adding a few more pieces of wood to the fire, we turned in for the night.

It couldn’t have been more than a few hours later, when a strange noise woke us up. It was a kind of hissing sound but we could make out words in the hisses. Opening one eye, I gave our campsite a quick look over. What I saw brought me awake in an instant.

Rising up out of the glowing remains of our campfire, was a snake, multi-colored and beautiful as well as frightening to see. It was staring at the snake/woman and talking to her in its strange hissing speech.

“You were punished for your unthinking cruelty to one of my children. It has been decided that you have learned your lesson. Go and teach this lesson to others and never forget that all creatures have a place in this world and deserve respect.”

As the sun started to rise in the distance, the snake in the campfire disappeared. With every beam of sunlight that hit the snake/woman, she turned more into woman than snake. As the sun reached its rays towards the earth, her transformation completed. There stood before us a snake no more.

“Look! I have turned to my old self again!” Tears of joy poured down her cheeks.

After a celebratory breakfast of fish freshly caught in the river, we rigged up a way to hook our kayaks together in an outrigger fashion and gave the woman a ride back to civilization, where she found her family and started on the task given to her by the snake in the fire.

Join us next month to see what mischief The Traveling Man and John get into next.

The author, Candace Clayton, lives in Granbury, Texas with her Husband and family, spending as much time in the outdoors as she can.

(New Chapters of “The Traveling Man” series are published on a monthly basis here in the Inflatable Kayak Blog. Check back soon for another chapter or set your computer to receive our RSS feed and you’ll be informed automatically when the next part of the story will be posted.)

(Candace Clayton is an author who’s written novels, poetry and other short stories. She was kind enough to write this fictional adventure series specifically for the Inflatable Kayak Blog about ‘The Traveling Man’, a kayaker who tells us tales about his youthful adventures with his buddies on the rivers where he grew up. We hope you are enjoying it!)

When last we met, The Traveling Man and John were at Tomales Bay, where John was held captive by a seemingly talking snake. Let’s rejoin them and see how they get away from the angry snake.

I tell you what, that voice sounded like it was coming straight from that snake. I knew that just couldn’t be possible. John’s teeth were chattering and his face was as white as a sheet. It would have been funny if I hadn’t been just as scared.

“John,” I whispered, “What have you gotten us into this time?”

“ME? I was just walking and this snake came out of nowhere. How is this my fault?”

“Well…I see you two get along really well.”

There it was again, the VOICE. All this time, we were so distracted by the voice that we had forgotten about the snake. Suddenly, the snake started moving closer to John. He screamed…I tell ya, he screamed like a little girl…and ran towards me.

“I am not going to hurt you,” Said the voice.

At this point it was clear the voice was coming from the snake. I think John was about to faint, he was that terrified. I, of course, took it in stride.  In a very manly manner, I screamed and started backing up. I also tripped on a rock and fell flat on my rear end. In his hurry to get away from the creature, John tripped over me and landed smack on my head.  There we were in a heap on the ground, terror etched in every line of our faces.

“I said I wouldn’t hurt you. Please…don’t run.”

The snake’s voice sounded hurt and lonely.

“Why does everyone run from me?”

“Umm…cause you’re a…a…a snake.” I stuttered.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Snapped the now angry creature. “I am a woman just as you are a man. I have been here for many years and I am tired of being alone.”

The snake made sounds like it was crying. Impossible, you say? Well, believe it or not, this snake was crying. John and I had finally managed to untangle ourselves and standing up, started to dust ourselves off.

“I am sorry to tell you this, ma’am, but you are definitely a snake. Now, if you don’t mind, we will head back to our canoes and be on our way.”

“Wait, you can’t leave me here like this! Please, I need your help.”

Come back next month and find out how The Traveling Man and John help the snake to find her true self.

The author, Candace Clayton, lives in Granbury, Texas with her Husband and family, spending as much time in the outdoors as she can.

(New Chapters of “The Traveling Man” series are published on a monthly basis here in the Inflatable Kayak Blog. Check back soon for another chapter or set your computer to receive our RSS feed and you’ll be informed automatically when the next part of the story will be posted.)

(Candace Clayton is an author who’s written novels, poetry and other short stories. She was kind enough to write this fictional adventure series specifically for the Inflatable Kayak Blog about ‘The Traveling Man’, a kayaker who tells us tales about his youthful adventures with his buddies on the rivers where he grew up. We hope you are enjoying it!)

When last we met out adventurous duo, they had been led out of the Louisiana Swamp by a ghostly tribe of natives. Let’s rejoin The Traveling Man and his side-kick, John, and see what mischief they are up to now.

Well, Howdy, my friend. I keep running into you all over the place! Isn’t it a beautiful day? I love sitting here by the water and communing with nature. The view from up here on this cliff reminds me of the time that John and I went to Tomales Bay. What? You’ve never been there? It is gorgeous! The blue water, the birds flying over head and swooping down for a bite to eat. Of course, John and I were out there paddling around in a couple of old kayaks. We figured we would head down the bay and see what was there to see.

We paddled till we got hungry and then we pulled up on the near shore to have a bite to eat. John set out making a fire and put on some coffee to boil while I dug around in our packs for some biscuits and jerky. We sat around the camp fire enjoying the day and our makeshift meal. After I finished my portion, I pulled up a piece of driftwood and settled back for a cat nap.  John set off into the trees for a look around.

“Don’t go gettin yourself lost John. I ain’t in no mind to come hunting ya down.”

“P-shaw, I can find my own way around here.” John muttered.

“Alrighty then, just you remember that when you can’t find your way back.”

I dozed off as John made his way along the trail, still grumbling under his breath about my lack of faith in his survival skills. Next thing I know, I am waking up and by the looks of the sun’s position, some hours have gone past. I look around and there is no sign that John has returned from his little excursion.

“I told that fool not to get lost, now I gots to go look for him.”

I covered the coals that remained from our campfire and hefting my pack over my shoulder, I head off in the direction John had taken a few hours before. Wasn’t to long before I came across John. He was standing in the middle of the path with his back to me.

“John, What in Sam Hill are you doing?”

“Shhh…don’t make a sound.” I could hear the fear in John’s voice.

“Ok.” I whispered. “What are you doing?”

I eased up closer and saw what had John petrified. Right in front of his foot was a snake. Vividly colored, and mad as a hornet. It was swaying back and forth and flicking its tongue in and out. It looked ready to strike at any second.

“Don’t move a muscle John, I am gonna look for a forked stick to pin it’s head down and then you can get away.”

“Do I look like I am gonna move?” John asked in exasperation.

I pick up a stick and start moving towards the snake.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. At least, not if you value your life.”

I looked at John, “What?”

“That wasn’t me.” He whispered.

“Well…we are the only two people standing here. Who else could it have been?”

Then we hear the voice again, “It was me, are you blind as well as daft?”

Rejoin us next month to find out who the mysterious voice belongs to and see how The Traveling Man and John get out of this new mess.

The author, Candace Clayton, lives in Granbury, Texas with her Husband and family, spending as much time in the outdoors as she can.

(New Chapters of “The Traveling Man” series are published on a monthly basis here in the Inflatable Kayak Blog. Check back soon for another chapter or set your computer to receive our RSS feed and you’ll be informed automatically when the next part of the story will be posted.)

(Candace Clayton is an author who’s written novels, poetry and other short stories. She was kind enough to write this fictional adventure series specifically for the Inflatable Kayak Blog about ‘The Traveling Man’, a kayaker who tells us tales about his youthful adventures with his buddies on the rivers where he grew up. We hope you are enjoying it!)

When last we ran into our adventurous duo, they were trapped in a cave full of chanting, dancing ghosts. Will The Traveling Man and his buddy John, survive this latest adventure? Let’s rejoin them and find out….

I consider myself a fairly brave man, but I must admit that I was plum terrified. There we were, walking towards a group of ghosts. John was walking so close to me there was a hairs breadth between us. I think he woulda held onto my arm if he’d a thought he could get away with it and not look like a ninny.

One by one those ghosts stopped their chanting and dancing and turned to face us. Then we noticed something about their faces that stopped our fears right in their tracks. Those folks were sad. They had the longest frowns on their opaque faces I had ever seen on any creature. Sad ghosts? What the heck? I turned to look at John and saw he had noticed the same thing I had. Wonder and concern etched John’s normally cheerful face. We picked up our pace and headed over to see what was wrong with these sorrowful folk.

In no time at all we were standing right in front of this group of spectral beings. The one who had beckoned us over seemed to be the fella in charge. He looked right at us and spoke.

“Many moons we have waited. Many moons we have danced. Many moons we have watched. Your arrival signals the end of this test of patience.”

John’s mouth opened in shock and his chin nearly hit the floor of that cave. I just stood there in wonder of what we were witnessing.

“Long ago, through times now forgotten, we were a happy people. Not like you see us now. We celebrated life and the Giver of Life. We had much success in hunting. We had many horses and young, strong braves. We became proud. We became arrogant. We no longer followed the ways of our fathers. We no longer celebrated the Giver of Life. “

John and I sank to the floor and sat down.

“The Giver of Life also gave us the gift of knowledge. This knowledge had enabled us to build our fine canoes. We used these for hunting in the swamps, fishing and gathering of herbs for healing. This freedom we gained from the canoe also increased our arrogance. We claimed we had created the canoe on our own. We refused to teach other tribes the ways of building this life saving gift. The Giver of Life was angry. Our tribe was condemned to this secluded cave, until we were able to help someone in dire need. You are that someone.”

I sat there wondering how lowly little me was gonna help these folks outta their predicament. John and I couldn’t even get ourselves outta the cave. We were lost.

“We are going to lead you two young braves out of the darkness. We will fulfill our destiny and go to our final rest in peace.”

Those were the last words we heard him speak. With a wave of his hand, we found ourselves back in our canoe. We were surrounded by the tribe. Each one emitted a soft blue light. Picking up our paddles, we started out of the cave and into the night.

It was a long trip back to the dock. Each time we started to head in the wrong direction, our guides would gently lead us back on the right path. Anytime a log or tree root blocked our path, they quietly removed it. If we were followed by yellow eyes, half submerged in the water, or heard the slither of a snake, they gently shooed the curious creature away.

Just as the sun was starting to rise, we reached the very dock we had set out from the day before. With the rising of the sun, our guides all looked back towards the swamp and slowly disappeared.

John and I vowed never to speak of this again, as we didn’t want folks thinking we were loony. But, we didn’t let this stop us from adventuring out again. No sirree. We had many other adventures. Like that one time when me and ….

Come back Next month and see what crazy predicaments our two travelers get themselves into.

The author, Candace Clayton, lives in Granbury, Texas with her Husband and family, spending as much time in the outdoors as she can.

(New Chapters of “The Traveling Man” series are published on a monthly basis here in the Inflatable Kayak Blog. Check back soon for another chapter or set your computer to receive our RSS feed and you’ll be informed automatically when the next part of the story will be posted.)