Paddles

I have stayed at many KOAs in Florida and a few in Georgia and Tennessee. The ones not in Florida were excellent, for value, service, and attitude. Most of the ones in Florida so far seem to bite big time. I had one in Lake City that was "on a lake" (the lake was mostly dried up and had 8 foot weeds growing everywhere, couldn’t see the water), one in St Augustine acted like a Russian boot camp and would only rent the paddle boats between 1 PM and 5 PM, if they felt like unlocking them: On our trip, they said they weren’t for rent because they had a tour bus comming in. What? One in Orlando (Lake Wippoorwill) advertized one-room cabins, but they aren’t cabins, "they are hard-shell tents", and one KOA in Mims, FL says wood fires are not allowed, not even in the BBQ pits because it is against State Law, when the real reason is so they can charge a $100 deposit plus a daily rental fee for a "portable fireplace". Other KOAs deliver firewood. Has anyone else experienced KOA problems?

I’m not sure where Lake Wippoorwill KOA is and I ‘m from Orlando. If that’s the one on US 192 next to Sams Club, I toured it for a review and found it unacceptible, mainly for lack of shade. We stayed in one of those wooden tents in Seffner, FL. My wife couldn’t hold it through the night and had to use the trash can for a potty.

The problems you mention is one of the reasons I try to stay anywhere else than KOA. We traveled to Alaska and back, from Brooksville, Florida, last year and stayed in a few KOA’s, most we will never stay in again. Ocala KOA was $50+ several years ago, for what? being with-in 90 miles of disney?

We found one in Souix City, SD that wasn’t open yet they let us stay the night, very nice people. Farther up the road, in Wyoming, we couldn’t get decent electric and left. On our way back one in Great Falls, Montana was $30 a night higher than any other campground around. Somewhere near Bismark, ND we stayed in one that was barely large enough for our 35′ motorhome, no place for our towed.

We have seen those nickle & dime you to death campgrounds and they aren’t just limited to KOA. You must really watch yourself out there.

We are in the planning stages of a return trip to Alaska for next year and you can bet there won’t be any KOA’s in our trip. We plan on a campground every five days on the way up. WalMart and Flying "J" fuel stops will be our campgrounds for this trip.

Good luck and happy camping.

she also says that she knows where the pope shlt in the woods? I asked for extra poptarts and teddy grahams for the super bowl party and she looked at me like that time when there was trouble between my inflatable dolls at Denny’s. That was a bad day.

means you’re not getting the party.

im in 8th grade and im going to high school next year
ALL of my friends are in high school and i want the summer and the rest of this year to go by extremely fast just because i completely hate summer so..
and cool hobby’s that r like..interesting? i already know how to, turn wood,and most crafts from my mom n dad(:
like maybe playing paddle-ball? haha im actually learning that right now(: so any suggestions?

Try cross stitching. It’s time consuming, demands attention, and is challanging. I started when i was around 12 or so [I'm 25 now] and it’s one of the only hobbies that I have stayed with. Plus, it’s very relaxing.

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Learn the duffek and cross duffek stroke for flatwater canoeing in this free outdoor extreme sports video from our kayak and canoe expert.

Expert: Bruce Lessels
Contact: www.kayaklesson.com
Bio: Bruce Lessels is president and co-founder of Zoar Outdoor, a full-service outdoor center in western Massachusetts offering camping, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, and fly fishing.
Filmmaker: Christian Munoz-Donoso

Duration : 0:1:46

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Technorati Tags: adventure, camping, canoe, canoeing, duffek, extreme, kayak, kayaking, sports, stroke, whitewater

Over the Summer I was at my camp, that lays on one of the finger-lakes in New York. As we got out of the water we saw an animal swim by. We think it was an otter, or beaver. We don’t think it was a beaver, because it had no paddles tail. And we don’t even think otters are native to New York. It definitely was not drift wood. Could it have been some kind of weasel, like a fisher or mink? If any one has any idea, please answer.

You are correct it wouldn’t be a beaver if the tail wasn’t flat. Muskrat are common in that area, and have more of an otter-like tail. They are much smaller, getting about the size of a small cat at best, while otters are much larger. River otter are native to that area, and are a possibility, but are rare and hard to see. The best way to tell the difference between the muskrat and otter is by size.

It would be very unusual to see a mink or fisher (which rarely eats fish) in water, but not impossible, it would probably be trying to get out of the water as quickly as possible.

Tyler Walker and Camp Bil-O-Wood friends paddle 300 miles through the Canadian Wilderness to James Bay in the Arctic Circle in 2001

Duration : 0:6:36

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Technorati Tags: 300, and, Arctic, bay, Bil-O-Wood, Camp, friends, James, miles, paddle, THE, to, Tyler, Walker

He said he made it in woodshop. It is made of oak wood and is about 18 inches long and about 3/8 inch thick and has holes drilled in it.

Do nothing. As a teacher in a high school, I have seen all kinds of projects. One kid even gave me the clip board he made. Another kid gave me a spanking paddle to use as the bathroom pass.

If your son doesn’t intent to use it – it probably isn’t a big deal.

Part 3 of Mel Puu’s stand up paddle surfing and canoe surfing contest at Makaha Dec 6, 2008.

Duration : 0:8:14

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Technorati Tags: Brian Keaulana, c4 waterman, canoe surfing, hawaii, Makaha, Mel Puu, stand up paddle surfing, Stand Up Paddling, sup

any wood carving tips out there? I am trying to make a simple gift and need to engrave a name in a thin wooden paddle. Any advice would be so appreciated! I have gone thru most of my test & trial wood

Here are some books that might interest you:

Whittling and Woodcarving
by Elmer J. Tangerman, E. J. Tangerman – Execellent book to get on the subject

Little Book of Whittling: Passing Time on the Trail, on the Porch and under the Stars
by Chris Lubkemann

Whittling Twigs & Branches : Unique Birds, Flowers, Trees & More from Easy-to-Find Wood
by Chris Lubkemann, Ernest C. Lubkemann, Ernest C. Lubkemann

Art of Whittling
by Walter L. Faurot

1001 Designs for Whittling and Woodcarving
by Elmer J. Tangerman

Big Book of Whittling and Woodcarving
by Elmer J. Tangerman, E. J. Tangerman

Whittling The Old Sea Captain
by Mike Shipley

Woodcarving: 20 Great Projects for Beginners and Weekend Carvers (Weekend Crafter Series)

Whittling
by Bill Higginbotham

Whittling Simplified : Everything You Need to Know
by Herb Reinecke

Whittling Twigs and Branches : Unique Birds, Flowers, Trees, and More from Easy-to-Find Wood
by Chris Lubkemann, Ernest C. Lubkemann

Ben Hunts Big Book of Whittling
by Walter Bernard Hunt

All books are available at any bookstore or library

websites:

http://members.tripod.com/TheCarvingBenc…

http://www.littleshavers.com/Whimseys.ht…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whittling

http://www.desiquintans.com/whittle

http://howtowhittle.com/index.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Whittle-a-Ball-in…

http://www.ehow.com/how_11286_whittle.ht…

http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/index…

http://fun.familyeducation.com/crafts/ha…

http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/winter/ac…

http://www.whittlingandcarving.com/how_t…

http://members.tripod.com/thecarvingbenc…

http://www.persistenceunlimited.com/2006…

10-8 Prototype Gun/Ripper
Music Jack Johnson
Song Constellations
CD In Between Dreams

Duration : 0:2:3

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Technorati Tags: 10-8, Gun/Ripper, paddle, Prototype, stand, up