Table of Contents
Thank You Letter to Rudy Rivers
Camp Mohawk Instruction and Camp
Minutes from May 2006 General Meeting
Trip Reports
Anne Olden: Lake Woodlands Paddle
Christy Long: Medina River Cleanup
Cindy Bartos: Memorial Day Paddle
The
New Rio Vista
by Robert Langley
Once upon a time there were three waves, a papa wave, a mama wave, and a baby wave.
The
papa wave was too gnarly, the baby wave was to boring, and the mama wave
was just right. So what did the silly yackers do? They all went and played
on the big gnarly wave of course!
Friday morning, May 26, at seven, Rob and I went to try out the new Rio Vista Whitewater Park. By 9:00 am we were joined by kayakers from Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Marcos.
Access
The landscaping is not finished yet but I have to say that they have dramatically improved access from river right. It is now an easy walk from the parking lot to the river. Once the landscaping is complete it should be a great place to just sit and take in the view.
The First Drop, Papa Bear
In many ways the first drop is similar to the old dam, more scenic but
many similarities. The water drops through the notch and slides over a
smooth rock like the old dam. The wave at the bottom is also about the
same size but a little longer. That is where the similarities end. Now
about the time you open your eyes after going through the wave it is time
to do something important. There is a big eddy on river left. On river
right the designers have placed three large rocks right on what would
be the eddy line or the wave train. The last of these was designed to
flip kayakers.
The Second Drop, Mama Bear
The
second drop is smaller and a little stickier but still a working wave.
Although not as intense, it also offered opportunities to practice your
roll. The eddies on either side of the river are pretty easy to catch
but neither offers much still water. The water circulates around T-boning
back in to the main current. This wave is better suited for beginners
but be prepared for a few scratches on your boat. At current levels the
nose of my boat was in the notch and took a beating as I slid back and
forth across the wave. Make sure everyone is wearing protective footwear
when playing here and downstream. The gravel the team used to shape the
bottom of the river is sharp, and probably will be until erosion has its
way with them.
The Third Drop, Baby Bear
The third drop is not particularly interesting at current levels but is some place to play and a good place for beginners to practice ferrying. The water is pretty shallow making rolls difficult but self rescue easy.
Timing
I expected it to be crowded on a Friday before a holiday weekend. We got there early and had good paddling until about 10:30 to 11:00 a.m. Despite probably peaking at close to twenty boaters it was not too crowded with the three drops. We came back after lunch about 2:00 p.m. and the place was a zoo. There were two diehard paddlers left but they soon gave up and left.
The moral is that the tubers and swimmers own the afternoon so get there early.