A wet, wild morning in Little Rock

Lining up for the start.

I’m pretty sure I’ve never raced in a rain as heavy as what we had today.  As we warmed up this morning, the sky to the west (upriver) was black.  Less than a minute after the gun went off, we slammed head-on into the deluge, and it felt like smacking into a liquid wall.  The [...]

Ice-Water School

Outgoing ACC President Tom Burroughs

We’ve been looking forward to Whitewater School since we started paddling with the Arkansas Canoe Club.  As the class got closer and closer, we got more and more excited.  Camping!  In May!  On the Mulberry River!  With friends!  It sounded like a great weekend. We like to paddle, and we like to learn stuff, and that was just [...]

Dragons and Gunslingers

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May 18th was an active day for events in Central Arkansas. One of those events was the inaugural River Cities Dragon Boat Festival on Victory Lake at Burns Park in North Little Rock. According to the festival website, Dragon Boat racing is an ancient tradition: Dating back more than 2,300 years, Dragon Boat racing features [...]

Paddles Up for River Cities Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon

Registration is now open for one of the most exciting events on the water, River Cities Dragon Boat Festival, benefiting the Children’s Protection Center. On Saturday, May 18, teams will compete at Burn’s Park’s Victory Lake for the champion title in Arkansas’ first ever dragon boat competition. It may be cold outside, but now is [...]

Cossatossed

At the Ess.

The Cossatot River was running last weekend, and so were all the whitewater paddlers in the state. Our river trip began at the Ed Banks low water bridge. As we unloaded boats and put on our gear, we were meeting tons of new people and trying to catch up with other friends. It’s amazing anyone [...]

Back to Rendezvous

A beautiful chili and cornbread.

(See Part One of this Story) After a few hours in Little Rock we were ready to get back to our friends at the 19th Annual Arkansas Canoe Club Rendezvous. As we crossed the I-30 bridge over the Ouachita River we noticed some boaters still playing at the Rockport Ledge but decided that they would be heading [...]

Do You Rendezvous?

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…well, you should. We don’t have a lot of canoe and kayak events on the Arkansas Outside calendar for good reason. By default, denizens of the lakes and rivers of Arkansas are a spontaneous lot. Waiting for enough rain to turn a small creek into something that can be run by boat or a deluge [...]

Stand-up Paddleboarding Comes to Arkansas

Stand Up Paddleboarding with Pinnacle Mountain in the background.

Zoie Clift, travel writer, Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism -  Encountering a person on a stand-up paddleboard (SUP) is still somewhat of a novel sight in the state. As a result, the scene sparks a lot of curiosity. “People will ask, ‘Where did you get that?’ ‘Where can you buy those around here?’ ‘What are [...]

Floating in the Drought

Heading back downstream.

Much of Arkansas is currently under sever/extreme drought conditions. It hasn’t rain much here all summer. Every time we get a few drops Facebook lights up with tongue-in-cheek questions about what is falling from the sky. If you are a kayaker, it’s been a disappointing Summer for floating. Or has it? We’ve been wanting to [...]

Olympic Feats

Try to get past the logo...just try.

I grew up in a family that watched the Olympics religiously every four years. I even remember one year watching the Summer Olympics on a black and white television set in the driveway getting a signal from an antenna while I painted the garage door. Yes, I’m that old folks and yes, television was available [...]