"What's the best place you have paddled"
 

One of the things that I've always loved doing has been to day trip on the rivers and sections of rivers that get recommended to me. I ask everyone I encounter... I don't know It's just me I guess. I'll be floating down a river and cross paths with some intrepid paddlers and get the urge to ask the question.The funny part is they always answer. Not only do they answer but they give me tons of details.

Most paddlers tell me what they loved about the stretch of river, what the current was like, what the water color was, how the wind blew that day, and so on and so forth. It's amazing really. When we find something on a paddling trip that truly touches our soul we remember every vivid detail. I equate it to a near death experience really. Nothing plants an impression on your mind so sublimely as an experience that really touches you.

My favorite canoeing experince happened about 3 years ago. I was unmarried (but floating with my future wife:)) and with my father. We put in the Au Sable River in Grayling, Michigan for a nice 6 hour trip down to Roscommon and before we even started the fun, laughter, and wonderment started. Well, it started with my father attempting to get into his kayak (an Old Town) and flipping the bad boy. The best part was he was on a solid, flat dock and the river at that point was smooth as a plane of glass. Well the wife and I start our trip down river and 2 minutes later we discover that Old Man Charles is not with us... So we umph it back upstream on the Au Sable to get back to our put in place only to see elder Charles coming up for air after diving the 6ft down to look for his glasses that fell off when he rocked his kayak.

Our inauspicious trip had gotten off to a great start and was ready to get better (altough not nearly as humorous). On this trip we found the river to be practically empty. We saw one deer, 2 ducks (at least twice), 2 otter, 1 heron (about 10 times as he flew down river with us), and more turtles then we could count. It was not really any different from the 20 other trips down the Au Sable River that we've taken in the past but because of the fun beginning it stands out to this day.

So what are your favorite paddling adventures? Where do you find yourself going over and over becuase you just cant get enough?