A small group of paddlers met at the Twin Bridges Resort on Friday, September 6 and by comparison to last year, the place looked very different.

 

For starters, it has new owners, again, who acquired the property in April of this year.  The husband/wife team have a lot of ambitious plans to make this a first-class resort, but for now, we, the campers, dealt with few inconveniences, that were easily to overcome. The storefront was closed for renovation, the restaurant is still closed due to ongoing saga of property/lease litigations and the traditional camp sites that were facing the river are now roped off.  We gathered at the back of the middle section row in one close cluster, which worked out just fine.  One of the electrical poles was not working but due to resourcefulness of our group, we had plenty of extension cords to tap into the next campsite’s utility pole.

 

The grounds are well-maintained, but place was virtually empty and there was only one other group that was camping, strangely by the riverfront, which was roped-off. The stand-alone bathrooms and showers building appear to have some make over and the coin-operated machines were being installed to use the shower. For now, there is no charge. By speaking with the owner, many changes are coming, including building new cabins (old ones will be torn down) and there is a possibility to move tent campground to a property directly across the road.

 

This year our group also included a guest, Eva Neikirk, Charles’ mom, who drove up from Austin, TX to have some fun on the river.

 

Saturday, Sept. 7

 

The Day One of the paddle track was Hammond to Blair Bridge, a very nice 11.5-mile section. We started the shuttle at 8 AM sharp and were on the river at 9:30. Having a smaller group helped with the logistics of the shuttle and 10 paddlers and our four-legged companion, Becky, set off the track under cloudless blue sky.  The morning temps were rather cool, about 55 degrees but by the time we hit the water, many of us were peeling layers off. The temps reached 75 degrees during the day.

 

The water temperature was also very comfortable and tolerable, especially for one swimmer whose boat got entangled under the log and had to be rescued with the help of the rope.  No one was hurt and with exception of a gel cushion, no gear was lost. Kudos to the rescue team who were able to get us back “on the road”.

 

Just as last year, the water lever was its usual “slightly low”, just enough to produce a few scraping sounds however, we did enjoy several quick rapids, which are always fun.

 

We have encountered 8 “angry” Great Blue Herons, who were clearly not happy with us, and they made some pretty loud screeching noise as they moved away from us to a safer distance. In addition to a usual army of turtles who were trying to catch as much sunshine as possible, we spotted a Bald Eagle and one lonely Osprey.

 

After a quick lunch on the riverbank, we continued our journey to a Blair Bridge take out and were off the river by 2:15. It was a fantastic day on the river, and we headed back to camp for cleanup and dinner.

 

Igor’s GPS clocked 11.5 river miles for the day.

 

For dinner, we gathered at Roy’s General Store, in Dora, MO, about 10 min drive from Twin Bridges Resort. Do not let the name fool you. The restaurant on premises did not disappoint with their menu choices and large portions.  Staff was attentive and meals had decent prices. We sat in the covered outside patio to have Becky with us.

 

Back at the campsite, we were treated with an outdoor concert by a local band Spitfire. They started playing at 8 PM and played great collection of Classic Rock. It was an enjoyable evening with lots of goofing around and dancing.  There were virtually no audience except the campers, and we ended our evening around 9:30 PM during the intermission.

 

Sunday, Sept 8.

 

The Day Two track was a quick, 7+ miles between the Blair Bridge and Dawt Mill. The temps were nearly identical to the day before although the night was few degrees cooler. Since we were not coming back to camp, all the gear had to be packed wet due to morning dew and we were all packed up and ready to shuttle at 8 AM.   

 

We dropped off our boats at Blair Bridge access and once again, were on the river by 9:30. We had even smaller group with Frank leaving Saturday to attend family gathering and Rick, who did not paddle to resolve shuttling logistic issue.  Big thanks to Rick for helping out. 

 

This section of the river treated us with frequent rapids and very few challenges, and we moved rather quickly. We chose not to stop for lunch and to meet Rick at the Dawt Mill restaurant instead. During the paddle we counted 11 sightings of Great Blue Herons and turtles of course.  We made our traditional stop to visit a beautiful Althea Springs at the Patrick Bridge for some rest and photo ops.

 

One disappointing experience was learning about last year’s lunch spot at Blair Hollow, a very interesting, tiered amphitheater-like wall. Apparently, it is a private property, and the owner has erected a rather offensive and threatening sign advising people to stay away. So, no more stopping there.

 

We reached the Dawt Mill take-out around 12:30 p.m. and Igor’s GPS recorded 8.69 miles (which included short hike at the Althea Springs).

 

The weather was just as magnificent as the day before, with temps hovering around 76 degrees.

 

To our surprise and disappointment, Dawt Mill restaurant was closed on Sunday and our plans to have lunch there did not workout.

 

It was still fun and relaxing weekend with friends and to repeat the last year’s Trip Report closing statement – cannot wait to see what the place will look like next year. .

 

The water gauge at North Fork White River at Tecumseh measured 3.07 and 3.05 ft both days, respectively.