Catching Up

The funny thing about being on the road is that there is so much less time than you'd think.  Despite being able to share the driving, get on the computers and access the Internet from the road, and having a couple hours at a hotel in the morning and evening, there's just not much time to get work done.  At least that's my excuse for covering a week's activity in one post....


Tuesday, September 16th -

Mike at Sunshine Sports in Billings, MT was more interested than he thought he would be.  The Frontier's innovative design really impressed him.  He also is real interested in seeing how the rowing system will work for the rivers of Montana.

We had lunch with my great-uncle Leland Cade in Billings, MT and then hit the road for 7 hours of driving to Cheyenne, WY.

Wednesday, September 21st -

Today brought three stops before spending the afternoon & evening with my sister Dalyce in Denver.  We walked through Jax Outdoor Gear in Ft. Collins, CO and met briefly with the guys at Golden River Sports in Golden, CO.  Then we had a great visit Jon at Confluence Kayaks in Denver.  Jon started CK 15 years ago in the same area of Denver and has seen his neighborhood go from out of the way to a destination for shopping, dining, and entertainment.  Interestingly enough, an REI is one block away...and it has helped Confluence grow by bringing more outdoor adventure seekers to the neighborhood.  Anyway....Jon was really impressed by the Frontier.  He thought it would be a great addition to their growing fishing business.

After the work was supposed to be a little play on the water.  But upon arriving at a nice lake in a city park and unloading the boats, we were informed by a park employee that permits were required to use the water.  And they don't sell day permits, and we couldn't get one on the stop.  He notified us that if we "recreated" on the water, he'd call the police.  So we scratched the paddle and settled for an impromptu photo shoot.

Thursday, September 22 -

Nebraska is flat, full of corn, and not too interesting from the road.  Especially when you are on the road for 10 hours.

Friday, September 23 -

We left from Sioux City, IA and traveled the state roads for three hours before getting to Estherville, IA. NuCanoe dealers Rick & Tammy Kilpatrick of Kilpatrick's Marsh & Field were in a bit a disbelief that someone would travel to their remote town to see them, but that's what we did.  Once that wore off, they were in awe of the Frontier and more excited than ever for the 2012 season to arrive!

Driving through southern Minnesota is a bit like Nebraska....until you get to the Mississippi River valley near La Crosse, WI.  Then the flat fields give way to rolling hills and trees surrounding lots of water.  The Mississippi River, Black River, and their smaller neighbors are the fishing grounds for Anthony Larson of Coulee Region Adventures.  He'll take his water "hard or soft" so long as he can fish it.  And when he's fishing soft water, he's doing it in a NuCanoe.  And next year, it'll be a tough choice between the NuCanoe 12 and the Frontier 12.

Saturday, September 24 -

Paddle & Trail is a growing paddlesports retailer that truly invests and connects with their community.  We listened to Walter Loos, owner of P&T, tell tales of forming creative partnerships with cities, countiers, private landowners, manufactures, and more to bring amazing services and opportunities to the communities in Beloit, WI, Aurora, IL, and Loves Park, IL.  We are excited to start working with them to further these opportunities and bring NuCanoe boats to these communities.

The weekend!  Even road trips need days of rest, and our day of rest this week was in Chicago, IL.  We met up with a friend from home who was in Chicago, enjoyed some great deep dish pizza, walked the streets and lakefront downtown, watched the Bears vs Packers while having lunch in Wrigleyville, and cruised to the top of the John Hancock Center for a fabulous view.

Then Sunday evening we were back on the road, going to South Bend, IN.