Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.
Rent a boat/Go Climbing
Yesterday’s Weekend Plans section, in which we offer our thoughts on how and where you can have fun over the coming weekend, was a clean sweep for paddling. That made us realize that the paddling season is upon us, which made us realize that our helpful guide to 33 places where you can rent a canoe or a kayak (or a Sunfish-type sailboat) is buried somewhere in this Web site. That made us realize we needed to spend some time under the hood of this operation and make it easier for you to find certain key resources — such as those 33 places in the state where you can rent a canoe or kayak.
This weekend: Get wet
The weather’s warming, it’s time to hit the river trail.
Coast
We’re getting into prime paddling season at the coast: Not too hot, not too cold — really, just Goldilocks right. Making this a prime time to get in on Saturday’s kayak trip through the Roosevelt Natural Area at the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. This trip takes in the tidal flats and mellow waters of Bogue Sound, between the aquarium and the mainland. A naturalist will explain this cool environment and explain why it smells like it does.
Talked out? It’s time to reconsider the Crabtree/Umstead connector
Of our recent greenway coverage (see below), Bob writes: “Great overview! The only section I didn’t see mentioned this week is the missing link of the Crabtree greenway between Lindsay Drive and Umstead. Any good news on this one?”
I asked Sig Hutchinson about this stretch last week. Sig, as many of you may know, is the Triangle’s go-to guy when it comes to making trails happen. Back in the 1990s, he was the driving force behind getting mountain bike trails established at the Beaverdam area of Falls Lake. He moved on to become president of the Triangle Greenways Council, pushing greenway development throughout the Triangle. More recently, he’s been the chairman of the Wake County Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee, spearheading 2007’s successful $50 million Wake County open space bond referendum. Whenever there’s a snag in trail and greenway development, Sig usually is brought in to unsnag things. Such is the case with the aforementioned stretch of the Crabtree Creek Trail.
90 Second Escape: Garner’s White Deer Park
Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.