Beauty in The Back Yard

So we went canoeing today, we as in my wife and I. It was her first time, but I've done it quite a few times now, I even have a new multicache along this river route. We start off at Onwatin, about 13 km from home. It starts out west along the lake, a nice 1km paddle with beautiful houses and landscaping along the shoreline. The lake is only 200m wide so it's usually pretty calm on the water. Once you arrive to the river, the current starts to flow. As the houses disappear behind you, the river begins winding through the forest, narrowing down to between 10 and 25m . It's actually only 4.5kms from beginning to end "as the crows fly", but following the winding river is almost 11kms long. You have to pick lines to follow as the water gets shallow and there are rocks, fallen trees, sand berms and other obstacles along the way. The current helps keep you going most of the way, so you just mainly need to steer and avoid the obstacles. Some parts pick up more speed but it never last that long. As you zigzag along, you'll see some wildlife like Blue Herons, all kinds of ducks and geese, turtles, fish and if you're lucky, maybe a moose or bear. There a few spots along the way to stop and cool off, camp if you like or just take advantage of the picturesque surroundings. There is no major rapids, but when the water is higher, it could move faster and wash down more obstacles. A few spots, if you don't pick the right line down, you'll run aground and have to get out and help it along the way. The key is not to get sideways and make the canoe act as a dam, because the force of the water could pin and even flip the canoe. The good thing is even if you capsized the canoe, you would be able to stand up in the shallow waters. So after just a little over 2 hrs moving time, you arrive at the bridge for the take-out. The take-out and put-in are at different locations so arrangements for pick-up are needed. All in all, we usually take 3 to 4 hours for the whole ride, stopping for lunch and pics. You can continue down river to Chelmsford, but would have one easy portage over Kettle Rapids and another 30kms to go. I plan on doing it some time before the summer is over.
And to think, this is right here close to home, pretty well right here in our back yard. So check out your back yard, you'll be amazed what's there.