By Mary Fairchild (Hether Hoffmann posing for photography students at Montrose Beach) Instead of top paddlers saying, look at me, I am the future, I am cool, pay me. They’ll be saying, Look at me, what I do is fun, and I will share my experiences with you and help you learn to do what I…
Thomas Carr: Decoding Dinosaurs at Carthage
By Mary Fairchild Last week, we had the pleasure of dining with Thomas Carr and his wife Belinda prior the ESCONI general meeting where we were delighted to hear him speak on his important work at Carthage. “‘Dinosaurs Decoded” premiered Oct. 11, 2009, on the National Geographic Channel. The documentary features Prof. Carr, a vertebrate…
Boat Registration in Illinois: What’s Whitewater Got to do With It?
(Chicago Whitewater Association “Intro to Whitewater” at Harper College, February 2011 with Bob Menard; picture by Heidi Haas.) When it comes to non-motorized boats, only Illinois, Ohio, Oklahoma, Iowa (boats over 15′), Minnesota (boats over 9′), and Pennsylvania require registration fees. After non-motorized boat users complained in droves, the registration fees in Alaska were eventually dropped from…
Paul Sereno: African Dinosaurs Exhibit at Burpee Museum
A 1997 “People Magazine” sporting Paul Sereno as one of 50 most beautiful people was autographed and auctioned off for $80 last night at the 13th annual Paleofest hosted by the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, Illinois. Sereno’s appearance was “part of the package” for his traveling exhibit of African dinosaurs, “Splendid Isolation: Africa’s Cretaceous Dinosaur.”…
Geneva Kayak Center and Yorkville: Catching Waves and Whitewater in the Midwest
By Mary Fairchild Menominee River, Piers Gorge, Spring of 2010; CFS 3000. The Fox River Valley in Yorkville, Illinois, is expected to attract paddlers from throughout the Midwest as well as become an area for paddling instructors as a year-round teaching environment at the first whitewater park in the area. Ryan Rushton, L4 longboat training on the Menominee…
Tybee Island Sea Kayak Surfing
By Mary Fairchild Tybee Island is located about 15 miles east of Savannah, Georgia; at the end of an eight-mile peninsula and US Highway 80. Fourteen barrier islands make up Georgia’s coastline and Tybee is the northeastern-most of these islands. Like all the barrier islands of the area, Tybee has a sandy beach on its eastern shore and a tidal salt…