Another
Fall Paddle Florida is in the history books
Our fourth installment of Paddle
Florida, and second annual Fall event is now history,
as 55 people traveled with us during the week of October
15-22. We traversed 123 miles over seven days and
impacted the local economies along the way. Live Oak,
Mayo, Branford and Chiefland saw our paddlers come
through their towns. On our last night we recognized
our oldest and youngest paddlers. Those distinctions
went to Catherine Ray, a retired physician from Virginia,
and Kayla Smith, a ten-year-old from nearby Old Town.
Kayla and her grandmother, Jennifer Long paddled home,
which was about a mile and a half downriver from our
take out at Manatee Springs State Park.
We encourage everyone to register for our January event
on the Peace River over the MLK, Jr. weekend or our
next Spring Paddle Florida event in March. Please
see our website at www.paddleflorida.org for
details. Groups of 5 or more can take advantage of
the "company retreats" discount. Please call us at
352.377.8342 for more information. In both cases we
will be staying at several state parks and some private
sector providers, but one thing's for sure; no one
who participates will ever forget their time spent
on Florida's Peace River and the majestic Suwannee
and Withlacoochee rivers. |
|
|
 | |
|
|
|
|
Paddle
Florida finalizes 2010 trip schedule
Paddle Florida is excited to announce that
our 2010 trip schedule is complete and
can be viewed and accessed on our website
at www.paddleflorida.org
We have tweaked the website a bit and now
it is really easy!
Over the MLK, Jr. holiday weekend we will
paddle the beautiful Peace River. Beginning
on Jan. 15 at the Ft. Meade Outdoor Recreation
Area. We will spend Saturday at the Paynes
Creek Historic Site in Bowling Green and
Sunday at Pioneer Park in Zolfo Springs.
This is a relatively easy, 42-mile, 3 day
paddle, and they don't call it the Peace
River for nothing.
March 18-25 we continue our Spring paddling
adventures when we start another 7-day,
115 mile paddle beginning on the wondrous
Withlacoochee River at Madison Blue Springs
State Park. We then join the Suwannee
River at Suwannee River State Park, before
finishing the tour at magnificent Manatee
Springs State Park. Paddlers on our week-long
trips have the option of customizing their
own trip by joining for shorter distances
and durations. Please visit the 'register
now' section of the website in order to
learn more about our Paddle Florida Lite
option.
Our Fall Paddle Florida takes place October
14-21 on the Suwannee River. This is the
original. Seven days, 123 miles filled
with the majesty of Florida's most storied
river. Join us on the Suwannee River Wilderness
Trail and enjoy the great outdoors the
'Paddle Florida Way'. For more information
on any of these trips, please call 352.377.8342
New
Paddle Florida Miss Congeniality
is crowned on our fall event
As we do on each event, we select another
'Miss Congeniality' at Fanning Springs
State Park on our final night of Paddle
Florida. The winner this year lobbied
heavily for the honor as he knew this
was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
We selected Stuart Siddons because Stu
was always there with a kind word and
a helping hand throughout the week.
Stuart Siddons . . . we salute you!
|
|
|
|
|
Our
featured Paddle Florida volunteer
Quite simply, if it wasn't for Jan Corcoran, we wouldn't
be able to host our Paddle Florida events. On this
past Fall event, Jan took care of the rest stops
the whole length of the trip. Jan has been an integral
part of Paddle Florida since its inception. She
has scouted trips, shuttled countless people and
boats, greeted our paddlers, taken care of rest stops,
helped promote Paddle Florida on the internet, been
a great ambassador and been the driving force behind
the success of all our events.
Jan Corcoran . .
. we salute you!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Camping,
Kayaking and the Blues |
Kevin Mims, VISITFLORIDA's
outdoor travel blogger joined us for
the last day and a half last week and
wrote this. Check out the video! (special
thanks to Marqueta Keefer of the Alachua
County Visitors and Convention Bureau
for organizing the Fam Tour!) courtesy
of Visit Florida. www.visitflorida.com
Not much to say, really. This is just
how things should be.
While the majority of the Paddle
Florida folks traveled down the
Suwannee River for more than 100 miles,
I was only able to attend the last
9 miles from Fanning
Springs State Park to Manatee
Springs State Park, but it was
one of the nicest overnight camping
and paddling trips I've had in a long
time. I'm envious of the rest of the
bunch that came out to take part in
the whole Paddle Florida event!
Good people, good eats and good Delta
Blues music courtesy of Willie
Green -- plus throw in some paddling
the next day, and that's one heck of
a nice time for anyone. I also kept good
outdoorsy company and got tons of information
about the Suwannee
River Wilderness Trail from Brenna
Daniels, manager of both the SRWT and Florida's
Nature and Heritage Tourism Center.
Here's the cool thing -- you don't have
to wait until next year to take part
in a Paddle Florida event. A shorter,
three day trip will happen in January
on the Peace River. Don't miss it!
This video will give you a pretty good
feel of what to expect on a Paddle Florida
trip. Cool fall temperatures, a campfire,
good music and good company. What are
you waiting for?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0XPnmd7m7Q |
|
 Paddle
Florida will partner with Mosaic in hosting
our first event on the Peace River over the
MLK, Jr. weekend in January of 2010.
Mosaic was formed in 2004 through the combination of IMC Global, Inc. and the crop nutrition business of Cargill, Inc. Headquarted in Plymouth, Minnesota, they employ approximately 7,400 people in ten countries. Their shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MOS.
Leaders from three of Mosaic's Florida phosphate mines recently accepted safety commendations from the International Society of Mine Safety Professionals.
The International Society of Mine Safety Professionals (ISMSP) is a leading global nonprofit founded to promote the development of health and safety professionals throughout the international mining community. Each mine was honored for working over one million hours without experiencing a lost time incident.
Mosaic is the world's leading producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash, two of the primary nutrients required to grow the food the world needs. Their business engages in every phase of crop nutrition development, from the mining of resources to the production of crop nutrients, feed and industrial products for customers around the globe. Their customer base includes wholesalers, retail dealers and individual growers in more than 40 countries.
|
|
|
|
|
