Sunday

Minnehaha Parkway

 I like to reserve at least one day of the week to do something fun with my family. A lot of times Lynn doesn't make it because it's her day to train/workout. This Sunday she went for a long ride with her friend so it was just the four of us looking for some fun.

14$ for four ice cream cones= priceless 

Jump!.........Swim!

The other two are not as good swimmers so I wouldn't let them jump.

 I was planning on hitting the Cannon Valley Trail out of Welch but a late start had us headed for Minneapolis to ride along Minnehaha Creek and around Lake Harriet. Our main goal was ice cream and possibly some swimming. At approximately mid-way we found ice cream. On our way back we found our swimming hole. A couple years ago a friend of mine showed me a rare spot on the shallow creek that was deep enough to jump into from a pedestrian bridge above.

It's go time.

Put-in

what did I just agree to ? 

 As we rode along the creek G Man expressed his interest in having his own pack raft so he could paddle down the creek himself. I told him he didn't need one yet since he has his own little sit-on-top kayak that would work perfect. His eyes lit up, "we could do it", I bit my tongue a little after I mentioned it. I may seem a little reckless but I don't take chances with my kid's safety, the creek was moving fast and had a lot of flow, now I was on the hook and the plan was hatched.

Lynndale Ave 

After dinner the two of us headed back to Minnehaha Creek, set up the bikes for a shuttle and went to the put-in. I was nervous at first but he handled the boat like a seasoned vet, I was impressed. The section we did was from Lynnhurst to approximately Cedar ave, one of the best sections in my opinion. After about 45 minutes on the creek we reached our take-out and started the ride back to the van.

Nice little chunk of rapids down stream, that I was not able to capture with the camera. we ran this section twice

Second round of jumping off the bridge

  It was a great time, and the type of thing a father looks forward too when they are just little babies, waiting for the day when they can do some "real" stuff. I was still a little nervous the whole time, but it looks like I might have another paddling partner.

G Man unlocking the bikes so we can ride them back