Swannanoa River Reclamation

Here is a picture of the Blue Ridge Mtns, looking over Warren Wilson College land. This is how I started my weekend.

In my quest to find more dirt to ride on my work commute, I stumbled onto this portion of the Swannanoa River. River Link is in full force, pushing this project forward. (click on the link and scroll down for details).

I have ridden past this area about 6 times each week for the past two years and never knew that this oasis was 200 yds from the road. So, I as got off the beaten path, I was pleasantly surprised to find some river restoration work going on. The river is being reconstructed to include pools for fish and other water lovers, and the water will also become more oxygenated due to the waterfalls constructed.

While all that is great, my first thought went to, "wow, this would be a great place for learning eddying, ferrying, and surfing in a kayak or canoe". And that is almost exactly what my 4yr old son said when he saw it:" Daddy, I want to kayak down this!!".

Where is this place? Azalea Park. Behind the soccer fields that stay green all year long!! And the plus for my family is that it is only 2.5 miles from our house.

It was another daddy/ son weekend as Rhonda was working. We continued to work on the skills park in the back yard.

The skinny log ride:

One of the ladder rides:

This is the one we build on Saturday. The big Maple logs are from the tree we cut down to make room for the addition:

And the plank ride:

This is Texas, wondering what we are doing, much like our neighbors wonder what we are doing:


Have a great day!!