Riverkeeper’s first official river trip

In a few hours I’ll be hosting a group of 20 or so paddlers on the Spokane River for my first official river trip as the Spokane Riverkeeper.

There’s a lot of excitement in the office today – and why shouldn’t there be?  The sun is shining, the weather is warm, and a day on the beautiful Spokane River awaits.

Today I’ll be joining representatives of Down To Earth, co-workers and members of the community for a kayak trip down

Kayaks setting off on yesterday's voyage on the middle Spokane River.

the Spokane River as part of the Spokane River Forum’s “Meet Me At The River Raft and Kayak Passport Series”, a summer-long series of professionally guided eco-tour expeditions open to beginner and expert paddlers alike.   Today we’ll be kayaking from  Upriver Dam to C.I. Shennanigan’ s – a nice and flat stretch that provides a very unique vantage point for which to view Spokane.

The “Meet Me At The River Raft and Kayak Passport Series”, in it’s third year, began this year in May with a few whitewater rafting adventures, continued through July with kayak trips, and rolls into August with a full slate of kayak adventures, many of which are still open.   It provides the community an opportunity to experience all or part of the 111-mile Spokane River, and also an opportunity to keep track of the sections you’ve completed on a cool Spokane River “passport”.    If you’re interested in upcoming trips, visit the website here for a calendar of events and registration information.

I’ll post a recap of the trip tomorrow with photos, stories and more.