Kicking Bear Kayak Adventure!
By: Goose 🙂
Back in early summer, one of our mentors, Dan, had an awesome idea to take our mentee group and some friends out on a kayaking trip; we thought this was a really awesome idea, and Dan set it all up with the Titanic Canoe Rental in Ontario, WI. We were set to go for early July, but all of the rain caused the river to be high enough that we decided to reschedule it for July 24th, just a few days before our West Salem event.
The day finally came and the river was low enough to be safe—we were glad we made that decision, as you will read on! Dan and some of our awesome mentee parents got food and snacks organized for the trip, and one of our mentees, Kaiden, even made the crew some awesome brownies! We carpooled our kiddos out to Ontario, and arrived at Titanic where Dan took care of all the kayaks, canoes, and life jackets so that it was free for all—thank you, Dan!
The excitement was tangible as everyone got into their kayaks or canoes; we had a pair of adults in the front with a canoe, a pair of us in the back with a canoe, and a kayaking adult drifting from front to back between the kids. Over 2/3rds of our group had never been on a kayaking/canoe trip like this before in their lives, so this was a really fun opportunity for both them and us!
As we set out, my husband Sam and I were in the canoe in the back to make sure anyone struggling would find their way, and a few times, I switched out to a kayak so that a kiddo could ride in the canoe where Sam taught them how to paddle and steer, adding tips, tricks, and even fun standing challenges for some of them. The sights to see were beautiful, almost like we were in a jungle, hidden in the trees and below abstract rock formations and roots.
We made a few stops along the way for fun times swimming, regrouping, skipping rocks, and of course eating lunch and those 5 star rated delicious brownies that Kaiden made. My dear friends Billie Sue (Kaiden’s grandma) and Kevin even packed me some special food, thinking of my unusual eating habits so I could fit in a little—thank you friends!
On our final stretch to get to the end of our trip, some sibling rivalry stirred in the waters and one of our mentees Jeffrey found himself in between two family members who were plotting against him… so as they got closer he bailed out of his kayak only to have it flip over and sink, as his shoes, a sandwich, hat, and a banana floated down river. Thankfully the girls and a friend helped gather all of the lost items, I kayaked over to his kayak, took his paddle so we wouldn’t lose that, and then we found a shallow standing area to hold everything until my husband came with his mentee friend on the canoe, so he could empty the water out of the kayak for Jeffrey to continue his adventure to the shore. As we met everyone else on shore much later, the girls had already told everyone the story, and we emptied our river crafts to ride a bus back and part ways. I’d guess everyone else’s car full of kids was much like mine with snoring sounds and nodding heads after such an adventure on the water.
We really appreciated Dan’s thoughtfulness and giving nature in all aspects of how the Lord put this trip on his heart and we’re so grateful to have him and all of our mentors as a part of not only this Kicking Bear family, but also our heavenly family. We look forward to more group mentorship adventures to come, and thank all of our mentors from the bottom of our hearts for “helping break
the cycle of broken families and put dreams in these kids’ hearts that will change not only their lives, but their families’ lives to come.”