Inflatable Kayak Blog

We had been talking about taking the kayak for a paddle on the Ohio River. It was a hot and humid evening and we could have put it off but we finally had some free time, so we packed up the boat and headed to a spot at Leavenworth, Indiana to put the boat in the water.

We have crossed the Ohio River many times on our way into Louisville and my first thoughts were that there would be a swift current and the water wouldn’t be too nice, maybe some driftwood to avoid. But the place we went was very calm, the water quality was better than I expected and it was mostly free of debris. We didn’t come across anything hazardous floating anywhere near us.

The thing that amazed me about this trip was how wide the river really is. When you are crossing it on a bridge you are over it in a matter of seconds, but being in a small inflatable kayak out on the water is quite a different story. Though we didn’t venture very far from the shoreline, to paddle to the other side would have taken quite a while, I’m sure. Because it is so wide, there is a unique quality to the river but it is not overly scenic. There were a lot of fish jumping after the bugs that were along the top of the water and we passed what looked like a small abandoned barge resting on the riverbank. It had been there for some time judging from the trees that were growing in and around it. But the most interesting sighting was a very large bird that flew up from the shore. It was gone before we had a chance to get a good look at it, but we wondered if there were any eagles in the area. We’ll have to do some research on that notion.

This wasn’t a very long paddle, but we both agreed that we would go back there, maybe on a cooler evening for a longer trip.