Two more of my items showed up today. The little aluminum mess kit and the water purification tablets came packed in bubble wrap (because it is so important to keep that little aluminum mess kit from getting scratched) and now I am just waiting for my little water-tight Otterbox to show up.
The water purification tablets are miniscule and fifty of them come in a bottle. Two of the tablets will purify one quart of water. The bottle of tablets will purify about six gallons.
The camp cook kit is one of those collapsible sets and includes a frying pan, a pot and cover, a plate and a mug. The entire ensemble is made of lovely, durable matching aluminum components and complements any dinner prepared under the skies quite wonderfully. Ok, its one of those little clamshell deals that boy scouts use, but it works.
Now I'm that much closer to being ready for my kayak trip.

I added a "support my blog"button to the site. A few donated dollars along the way would help me get all the gear I need for the trip. So...tell your friends! : )

Thanks for your support!

I received the first of the packages I ordered last week. The paracord showed up in the mailbox this afternoon. According to the e-mails, it seems the Otterbox is going to show up tomorrow. I love when they are spaced out evenly over the following week. Its like opening a little Christmas present every day! Let's see...the paracord and the Otterbox are here and on their way, respectively, so that leaves the water purification tablets and the inexpensive little aluminum camping mess kit. Hopefully they will arrive shortly after labor day. Soon after that, it will be another payday and I'll have another little budget for some more supplies! I'll have to start picking out what I'm going to get.

I was watching How It's Made on Netflix and they had a program on making molded plastic kayaks. So very cool. Its interesting to see how it goes from a powdered plastic into an oven and ends up being a 16-foot boat.

Watching more YouTube videos on the Brazos river and waiting for my packages from Amazon.com to show up in the mail. I'll be shopping for good deals for camping supplies and kayak gear but I only have so much of a budget each payday for the stuff, so, I keep searching for deals and hacking away at my list of things to get for the trip.
I really think the Brazos is going to be a great choice for this trip. It can be beautiful and allows for ample opportunity to pull over and stretch my legs or camp when needed.
One thing that amazes me is that it seems as though I can not find any charts for the inland waterways I want to paddle. There are a few crude, hand-drawn sketches that can be printed but they are hardly suitable for navigation. I have searched for navigation charts for both the Trinity and the Brazos and came up with nothing. I think I may end up making my own charts and even print and sell them if I can do a decent job of it.
Wouldn't that be something? It may even cover some of the cost of my trip eventually.

It was a beautiful day and I spent the day with my wife strolling around the shops and drinking green tea at one of the neighborhood cafes. After some quality time with the spouse, I brought her home to let her rest, read and catch up on some writing she had planned. While she did this, I ran out to do a little grocery shopping and, of course, run around to a couple sporting good stores and see what I could check out for paddling and camping supplies.

I ended up getting one of the Sea-to-Summit brand dry bags I had been wanting to get. It works great! I got the 20-liter size which seems the perfect compromise between being large enough to hold a considerable amount of gear and small enough to fit comfortably below decks on my kayak. I imagine two or three more this size would serve very well in stocking a multi-day journey while keeping my gear safe and dry.

I could easily imagine filling one with carefully measured portions of food, ready to be made into meals on demand, and clothing and various other supplies rolled and stuffed into the other bags, all lined up and keeping it all safe, A length of paracord looped through each of the bags' safety loops, a feature of Sea-to-Summit dry bags, would keep them all leashed into the boat in case of a spill.

In addition to checking the dry bag off of my list of things to get for my excursion, I also eliminated a few things by process of elimination. The storm-proof matches, for instance, seem completely unnecessary and will be substituted with regular matches on a dry plastic case. They will be backed up by my trusty wind-proof lighter and one or more of the ubiquitous magnesium fire-starter tools we all know and love.

I also investigated water filtration devices. The items I like run between $75 and $125 and will require more research before I toss down money for one of them. Another item which I reviewed today was sleeping bag pads. Specifically, the foam-filled pads with a screw cap on one corner for the purpose of keeping them inflated or deflated as desired. These creature-comfort devices are simple, easy to use, extremely light and very comfortable. I shall be investing in one of these, too, soon.

Onward! Each day, I hope to learn something, gain something, practice something, obtain some new gear or do something beneficial to bringing me closer to my goal of kayaking and camping for a two-week excursion somewhere around the state of Texas. I hope anyone reading this will be able to benefit from the experiences I have put down in words on this site.

Take care, everyone! I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

I picked up a few items on Amazon.com for the trip. I found a medium-sized Otterbox dry box for storing the sensitive electronic stuff. I also bought a bottle of water purification tablets. A hundred feet of paracord and an inexpensive aluminum mess kit round out today's online shopping excursion. I'll add a few select pieces of cooking gear I picked up from Wal-mart and my local Goodwill store.

Tomorrow I want to go REI to check out the Sea to Summit dry bags and some various brands of water filtration. I would like one of those hand-pump filters with the really fine micron filters that keep  viruses out, let alone any particles or algae.

The Brazos river is best answer so far for this excursion and I think I will start planning based on it. From Possum Kingdom Lake down to the town of Granbury is roughly 125 miles and I think its going to be an amazing trip. I should ultimately like to get a 15- to 17-foot touring kayak but I may opt for a 13.5 foot one instead. Why 13.5 feet? Because boats 14 feet and longer are required to be registered with the state. I could save about $60 a year if I don't have to register it. LOL

Seriously, it would be well worth the registration cost to have the additional length, storage space and sleekness of contoured body to glide through the water like a hot knife through butter. I think it costs $52 a year to register a 17-foot kayak (such as the Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 I have been dreaming about) and having to pay an additional tax on this item each year I use it will just push me to make sure I get every dime's worth out of it I can.

I can just feel myself propelling the boat down the Brazos, the Trinity, around Lake Grapevine, Lake Ray Hubbard, and various locales in Oklahoma, Arkansas and wherever. Yeah, I'm getting addicted to kayaking.

I did a bit of research today. The more experienced folks with which I spoke advised me the edges of the Trinity are not too hospitable towards campers. High walls, thick trees, private property and apparently as much variation in scenery as the mars rover would see in its eight-month transit.

So...perhaps the Brazos River to the West would be better. It has more water flow, sand banks to camp on, better scenery and smoother water. Well...hell, I made up the part about "smoother water" but I have to say something to justify the extra expense of traveling further out West to go paddling.

That's a lie, too. I will be thrilled to head out a bit further for this excursion and the exit point just happens to be Granbury, home of a wonderful Mom'n'Pop-style Italian restaurant and a fantastic gourmet cooking utensil shop as well.

Someone advised me the Trinity was supposed to be designated as a shipping lane as early as the sixties. That makes me feel confident it will be plenty wide enough for me to traverse from point A to point B. Also, had originally intended to start in Dallas and he'd out towards the coast. Now I'm thinking it would be better to start on the beach, or perhaps one of the nature parks the beach, and head inland towards home. That will give me a definitive goal.

I need to find a way to make this a fund raiser for a good cause or something. Try to make it something about more than just myself.

I contacted one of the local kayaking clubs to get their initial impression and any good advice they had to offer. I am also working on the supplies list. The actual amount of stuff one might feel compelled to bring just to meet a minimal comfort level can actually be quite daunting. It is amazing how much stuff we take for granted and feel we can't do without for a few weeks at a time.
I'll have to keep working on the list.

hmmm...

checking out the prospects for good, long rivers throughout the state and I'm thinking the Trinity river might be perfect for the task. I could start off right in Dallas and take it all the way to the ocean.

That would be a nice first expedition, wouldn't it?

I've been sick with some kind of head cold this weekend and have more or less resigned myself to watching YouTube videos of kayaking trips and expeditions. In the course of watching all of this great educational material, I have been making a list of items I will need for the trip.

I have quite a bit of it and there is quite a bit more I will need to secure somehow but the list of items seems to grow the more I think about it. I believe the task of making a list is going to rapidly turn into the task of editing the list just to keep the amount of gear to a manageable level.

It is Sunday, August 19th, and I am inspired to organize a kayak trip. I want to call it an expedition, really. I want to pack enough gear and supplies for at least a week or two into a touring kayak and traverse some great distance, stopping only to rest, stretch and camp.
I want to make it a benefit. I want to raise funds for a good cause and make it a beneficial journey for more than just myself.

OK. Great. I got the big idea down.

Now for the planning stage.