Rowin', Rowin', Rowin' on the River...

A few weeks back Tricia and I, along with our two sons, Russ & Benjamin, went on a canoe trip down the Ouiska Chitto Creek in Mittie, Louisiana.  It's on Hwy 26 between Oberlin and DeRidder.   You may recall two months ago we decided to go on a Sunday afternoon drive and ended up in the Ouiska Chitto, walking through the cool water on a hot afternoon.  That sparked the idea to go canoeing.  We had a great time and decided to organize a trip with my sister, her husband and family.

We made reservations, and I took off work on a beautiful (but hot) afternoon.  We met at T&J Canoe Rentals at 9 AM sharp.  It ended up being 10 of us:  Tricia, me, Russ, Benjamin, my sister, Jenny, her husband, Brett, their sons, Conner and his wife Elle, Carson and Landry.  We got on a school bus and headed down to the creek.  We were given a sharpie and told to sign the bus.  

We highly recommend T&J Canoe Rentals, a family operated business.  They request that you not litter because, "It's our backyard.  A place where our children swim. It's our home."  The proprietor is very friendly and talkative.  Here we are launching from beneath the bridge in Mittie. 

We had five canoes total.  There was a nice current in the spring-fed creek.  It's approximately an 8 mile excursion, which takes about 4 or 5 hours, but you can make it last however long you want by stopping on one of many white sand beaches for a picnic.  Here's Jenny and Brett:

First stop was for snacks and lunch.  We had packed an ice chest with watermelon and cold pizza ordered the night before.  We like cold, leftover pizza.  There was a bag of Raisinettes that barely made it around the first bend in the river.

With Tricia in the front of the canoe looking forward, I tested a theory in putting my paddle in the boat and making random splashing noises while I relaxed and she did all the paddling.  The water level was a little low, and there were some obstructions (fallen logs) that we had to maneuver around or over several times, but it was fun and a challenge.

We pretended we were Louis and Clark, not knowing what was around the next bend, far from civilization, lost in the wilderness.

There is one other canoe rental company on the river.  All in all there was not much traffic at all on the river.  We had the river mostly to ourselves.  In our few interactions with other canoers, they were friendly.  Here is our family below, Tricia, me, Russ & Benjamin:

A heron watched with little interest as we paddled slowly by.

This photo shows how clear the water is.  That is crystal clear for Louisiana standards.  Most water looks more like chocolate milk.  The locals describe the Ouiska Chitto as "tea-stained water with white sand beaches."  The Creek is a true treasure - only 30 minutes away from home.

Here is Rose with a nice photo op by the Titanic.  "I'll never let you go, Jack."

We stopped by the rope swing that we swung on last time we were here.  The boys were swinging and jumping off.  This photo reminded me of "The Lord of the Flies."  I almost expected one of them to run out with a pig's head on a pole.

At around 3 pm we caught sight of Carpenter's Bridge in the foreground.  That's the pickup point.  It's a bridge that is closed and supposedly will go under construction soon.  Right now, with it being closed, it makes the trip from Oberlin to Kinder a LONG trip.

The owner of the Canoe Rental company agreed to take a photograph of our motley crew.  

What a great outing we had!