Category: Kayaking/Fishing

Kayak Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller, Marylee Dunphy, Maria Riley

Date: May 15, 2026

At Tomoka State Park, we departed from the Tomoka Outpost and paddled north on the Tomoka River. Rosie and I were in a double kayak while Maria and Mary Lee had single kayaks. The water was smooth and the weather was sunny and 74 degrees. As we paddled around the north end of the land mass we passed where the former native American Timucuan village of Nocoroco once stood. Through the thick trees we could barely see the upstretched arms of the giant statue of Chief Tomokie (Photo #4). Before reaching the Halifax River, we turned right into an inland stream and kayaked south around Helicopter Island. We did not see any manatees or alligators, but saw a few turtles, an egret and a blue heron. After looking for wildlife, we turned around and paddled back to the outpost.

Before leaving the park, we hiked over to the forty-foot tall Chief Tomokie statue, built in 1955. The statue shows the chief defending the area atop a wall surrounded by warriors.

Later that day, not in the river but nearby in the Atlantic Ocean, we had an up-close encounter in the water with Portuguese Man of War jellyfish (Photo #5).

To top of the exciting day, looking south towards Camp Kennedy, we saw in the distance a Space X rocket launch (Photo #6).

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller, Nick, Jacque, Elizabeth & John Kelly

Date: November 19, 2025

At this popular state park, the attraction are over 700 manatees that gather here in the warmer waters from December through March. We wanted to kayak the river but with the young grandkids with us, the best option was a boat ride.  

We began at Blue Spring Landing where, in the 1870’s and 1880’s, five steamboats a day stopped here for freight and tourists as they traveled up and down Florida. Our boat passed Blue Spring Run where later we saw nine manatees as we hiked the Boardwalk Trail. As we slowly boated upriver, we occasionally encountered a few kayakers. During our trip we saw one manatee just below the surface chewing on vegetation. Mostly we saw alligators and many blue herons, egrets, buzzards and other large birds.   

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: August 4, 2025

We rented a two-person kayak and departed from our KOA Campground onto the water lily covered bay. The lilies were very thick as we paddled a path onto open water. An eagle, white egrets and a blue heron flew by as we kayaked eastward. We only saw one boat the entire time, which surprised us. We could see Cedar Point Amusement Park in the distance (Photo#7) to the west. We did get several beautiful sunrise photos.

Kayak Team: Dave Miller, Justin Eller

Date: June 27, 2025

We accomplished kayaking a new section of the Great Miami River. We put in at the ramp just past Hutchings Station Dam at Chautauqua (at river mile 63.4) and took out two hours at Metro Parks Miami Trailhead Launch (at river mile 56.3) on Verity Parkway. The 7.1 total miles went fast as we had a good current. I saw at least 15 blue herons. It was a hot 88 degrees, but we had a nice breeze in our face as we paddled southward.

Kayaking Team: Rosie Miller, Dave Miller, Jacque Kelly

Date: May 11, 2025

To celebrate Mother’s Day, we tried to kayak the Miami River but both launch sites in Moraine were closed due to the high and fast river water. Plan B was to head to Possum Creek Metropark. We used the new kayak ramp at the lake which made for easy water entrance & exit. Lots of people were fishing from the banks. I saw many fish in the water. Rosie enjoyed the warm, sunny day.

Kayaking Team: Dave Miller, Justin Eller

Date: May 7, 2025

We learned over the years that if you don’t kayak Twin Creek before June, it is usually too low to kayak for the rest of the dry summer. We decided to go the day after a six-hour rain and the creek was wide, bloated, the current was swift, and we experienced many fast curves. Twin Creek was wider than the Little Miami River that Matt & I kayaked a few days earlier. I was surprised that I saw no turtles, but we saw a couple of blue herons. Once I was not paying attention and ran into some tree branches hanging over a fast curve in the river almost tipping me. I lost my paddle and luckily Justin was able to retrieve it. Later, I missed the poorly marked takeout spot, so we had to paddle back upstream a quarter mile which was a tough workout. It was definitely a fun section of Twin Creek to kayak, and we will return with Rosie, Holly and Matt someday.

Kayaking Team: Dave Miller, Matt Miller

Date: May 2, 2025

Matt found this launch site (Eagle Pass) that was part of the Glen Thompson State Reserve on Trebein Road and Rt. 35. This was two weeks after the huge flooding and the Ohio Scenic Little Miami River was still a little high, making it a fun, fast run. Our goal was to reach the Narrows canoe launch about 1.5 miles downstream. We saw dozens of hardshell turtles and some softshell turtles. We saw both a large and a smaller black Northern Watersnake (also called a Common Watersnake) curled up on wood and tree debris piles along the river. One time a giant tree had fallen across the river, and we barely squeezed through but later downstream we were stopped cold by a massive pack of downed trees, wood and debris (Photo#4). We had to portage our kayaks around the blockage and return to the swift current. Near the end we saw a lot of cranes flying around the river and above. We looked up and saw over twenty crane nests (Photo #5) nestled in the trees. Looking closely, we could see a crane’s neck and head poking out of most of the nests. Fifteen minutes later we docked and loaded the kayaks just before the rain began.

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Matt Miller, Shane Miller

Date: April 3, 2003

Captain Matt piloted the “S.S. Breakwind” up and down the Miami River to a side channel or pond on northeast of the East River Road Boat Dock. We fished and caught several bluegills and were dive bombed by a couple blue herons. One highlight of the day was the sighting of a beautiful white swan (that hung around that section of the river for several months). The second highlight was net catching two big turtles. The boys brought them home for one day for photo ops and then released them back into the wild. Matt also saved Shane from falling in the river as he was trying to balance on a log (Photo#5).

Kayak Team: Rosie Miller, Dave Miller

Date: May 21, 2024

Over the past two decades the combination of climate change and drought has lowered Lake Powell’s shoreline as well as nearby channels and canyons. Local park rangers told me the lake and Colorado River has risen a couple feet in the past year due to snow melt upstream. Since we camped at the Antelope Point Marina Campground, we got a free golf cart ride from our campsite down a steep curving ramp to the marina far below. We rented a double Kayak, a two person Hobie. This kayak was different and unique, sort of like a recumbent bike. We pedaled instead of rowing with oars. I had a round dial on the left side of the kayak that I would twist to turn the rudder. It was a grueling workout for the legs. The lake water temperature was 70 degrees and air temperature 80 degrees on this beautiful sunny day. We paddled past Antelope Island into Antelope Canyon with its Red Navaho Sandstone and rocky terrain lining the shoreline. Afterwards, I decided I would much rather use a paddle/oar in the future.

Kayak Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller, Justin Eller, Holly Eller

Date: July 21, 2024

I always wanted to kayak this stretch from downtown Dayton to my hometown but the dangerous low dam at the old DP&L Tait Station prevented this since we would have to exit the river and portage around it. However, the low dam was removed a couple years ago. So, on this beautiful day, Justin put in at downtown Dayton at Riverscape to paddle through the two man-made rapids (River Rapids #1). Rosie, Holly, and I put in just south at the last two rapids (River Rapids#2). We paddled past the Dayton Art Institute and under several bridges. We had to look ahead and pick the correct route as some parts of the river in Dayton was shallow. We saw blue herons, white gulls and lots of beautiful blue wildflowers. We paddled past Carillon Park, UD Basketball Arena and then over the former low dam site where we had a mini rapid to negotiate. Once we kayaked under East River Road in Moraine, the river became wider, and the water depth was much deeper in most areas. We saw dozens of turtles and four or five boats with men fishing.

When we took out at the East River Road Landing dock in Moraine, we had paddled 5.9 miles in about three hours. It was a fun trip.